The UFC 333 picks are in, and Alexander Volkanovski still has the room. Barely. Across staff predictions from Bloody Elbow, MMA Fighting, Lindy’s Sports and Stadium Rant (both of the latter two published on Yahoo Sports), the featherweight champion collects five of eight votes against Movsar Evloev for Saturday’s main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The loudest call came from MMA Fighting, which took Evloev by knockout and opened with a line that would get you thrown out of a Sydney pub: “For the first time in a while, I can say with confidence that Alexander Volkanovski’s time is up.”
That’s a wild swing for a guy whose 10 UFC wins all went to the judges. The MMA Fighting case leans on Volkanovski’s recent damage. Diego Lopes caught him, and Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria both knocked him out. The pick also pushed back on the idea that Evloev’s lack of finishes makes him less dangerous, pointing to a résumé that includes Lerone Murphy, Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen, Lopes, Dan Ige and Hakeem Dawodu as some of the toughest outs at 145 pounds.
Bloody Elbow’s staff went 4-1 for the champ. Jamie Theodosi was blunt: “Movsar isn’t creative enough to beat one of the greatest champions ever.” Kyle Dimond figured Volkanovski won’t win every minute but will win the minutes that matter on the cards. Harvey Leonard admitted, “It seems unfathomable to back a 38-year-old featherweight to beat an undefeated contender in his prime like Evloev,” then picked Volkanovski anyway. Jordan Ellis was the lone voice calling a Volkanovski knockout, citing Evloev’s lack of finishes and a few debatable decisions. Donagh Corby broke ranks with Evloev by decision, arguing the challenger has to tune out the outside noise and lean into his most smothering style.
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Lindy’s Sports went Evloev by decision, writing that at 38 “this could be the fight where he finally looks old.” Stadium Rant stayed with Volkanovski on the scorecards, noting Max Holloway couldn’t outpoint him across three title fights and predicting Evloev finds early takedowns before the champ keeps getting back up.
The numbers: Volkanovski is 28-4 and rebuilt himself after two straight knockout losses, reclaiming the vacant belt against Lopes and beating him again in a rematch. This is the second defense of his second reign. Evloev is 20-0, 32 years old, and his last outing was a win over Murphy in London on March 21.
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The co-main split
Petr Yan (20-5) defends bantamweight gold against Merab Dvalishvili (21-5) in their trilogy. Dvalishvili dominated the first fight in 2023 before Yan won the rematch at UFC 323 on Dec. 6, 2025, after Dvalishvili had tried to defend the title four times in one calendar year. Stadium Rant and Lindy’s both took Yan by decision. MMA Fighting went with Dvalishvili in a close one that could set up a fourth fight. A Bloody Elbow poll posted on X also favored Yan, which would hand Dvalishvili his first losing skid in eight years.
The main card starts at 2 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
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My pick: Volkanovski by decision. Five rounds is a long time to hold the most adaptable featherweight of this era against a fence, and Evloev has never had to chase a finish against someone who punishes him for reaching. If Evloev wins, I’ll happily eat it, but he’ll do it on the cards, and the first guy to beat a 38-year-old Volk will hear about it for months.
