How fighters can find path to victory at UFC 333

UFC 333 takes place on Saturday in Abu Dhabi with two championship bouts at the top of the card featuring all-time featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski against undefeated Movsar Evloev and a much-anticipated trilogy bout between bantamweight champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili, the man he defeated to take the crown.

Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev (featherweight championship)

Volkanovski’s path: If Volkanovski can implement a similar game plan he carried into his initial bout with pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev, it should work wonders against a smaller opponent in Evloev.

If the fight takes place on the feet, Volkanovski should have the upper hand, despite Evloev’s improved striking and pace. He should be able to make reads and land the bigger strikes throughout.

Evloev’s path: Pace will be the most important weapon for Evloev. Mixing in his wrestling with the striking that earned him a decision win over Lerone Murphy will keep Volkanovski thinking.

If both fighters were in their prime years, this would be a much more difficult fight for Evloev, but with Volkanovski having just turned 38, now is a good time for him to capitalize on the diminishing reflexes that most older fighters face.

Evloev can win this fight on the ground or on the feet if Volkanovski has regressed since his last outing.

Prediction: Volkanovski by decision

Co-Main Event: Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili (bantamweight championship)

Yan’s path: Yan’s path is quite simple: emulate his performance from the last fight, which completely neutralized Dvalishvili.

Dvalishvili is extremely talented and effective when his game plan works, which is most of the time, except that Yan cracked the code and barring some major adjustments from Dvalishvili, Yan should be able to retain the championship.

Dvalishvili’s path: Dvalishvili’s success has been weaponizing his gas tank to overwhelm his opponents and attempt to take them down until he is successful, chaining together takedowns to keep the fight where he can seal the victory.

That game plan failed last time around, and while it may have been due to him being diminished from multiple weight cuts in 2025, he cannot enter this fight with the same plan and hope that it works.

This time around, Dvalishvili needs to take more risks on the feet to open up the grappling and set up his takedowns after pressuring Yan with his forward momentum and striking.

In the last fight, he landed 2-of-29 takedown attempts and he will have to do better than that if he plans on winning back the bantamweight strap.

Prediction: Yan by decision

Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov

Kavanagh’s path: Kavanagh’s best path is to proceed with caution. He needs to time his striking output and make sure that he is no longer in position to get hit on the exit. Kavanagh’s speed could prove his best weapon and if he can keep this fight at distance, his path is fairly straightforward.

Temirov’s power is the great equalizer in any flyweight bout, so he needs to avoid that power because a big connection, whether or not it scores the finish, could be the difference-maker.

Temirov’s path: While caution is the best avenue for Kavanagh, patience is what will make the difference for Temirov. If he gets too aggressive, Kavanagh will make him pay with his speed and evasiveness. Temirov needs to time Kavanagh and not get tricked into getting wild.

If he can lull Kavanagh into a false sense of security and time him, that will be his opportunity to land big and put him away.

Prediction: Temirov by Round 2 TKO/KO

Alexander Volkov versus Ramazan Kuniev

Volkov’s path: Volkov should be able to win this fight by simply sticking with his strengths. If he can outland Kuniev with his volume and be evasive, that should be enough to get the win.

Kuniev’s strength has been his takedown defence, which has allowed him to stifle grappling-heavy opponents, but that is simply not Volkov’s game.

The biggest threat for Volkov is Kuniev switching it up and attempting to grapple offensively, which he has not needed to do thus far. If he can keep the fight on the feet, he should be able to outpoint Kuniev comfortably.

Kuniev’s path: Kuniev needs to threaten the takedown to get Volkov thinking and then use feints to draw reactions from Volkov that allow him to capitalize on openings.

If he doesn’t get Volkov thinking about grappling and tries to match him in the standing, he’ll be fighting an uphill battle, despite being a strong striker in his own right. 

Prediction: Volkov by decision

Aaron Pico vs. Losene Keita

Pico’s path: Pico bounced back after a tough loss against Lerone Murphy in his debut, which was a result of him getting too aggressive. Pico needs to take the path of least resistance like he did against Pitbull.

This fight has fireworks written all over it, but back-and-forth firefights are where Pico has gotten caught in the past. He needs to make sure that his aggression is controlled and ultimately leads to takedowns.

Keita’s path: Keita’s path is fairly straightforward. Keep this fight on the feet and try to catch Pico with a big strike. He needs to stuff takedowns and bring the fight to Pico in an attempt to bait him into a slugfest. If he can do that, he should be able to catch Pico at some point.

Prediction: Pico wins by decision