Ahead of the UFC 331 ceremonial weigh-in on Friday, the top four fighters from October’s UFC 333 will also be on hand.
That card finally sees Movsar Evloev get his long awaited featherweight title shot, against two-time champ and future Hall of Famer Alexander Volkanovski. The Australian, who will turn 38 later this month, has competed in the UFC for a decade as of this November, and first captured featherweight gold in 2019. After four consecutive successful title defenses, he tried his hand a lightweight, losing a close fight against Islam Makhachev. While their rematch would be more definitive, Volkanovski added a fifth title defense prior to losing his featherweight crown against Ilia Topuria in 2024, only to win the belt back last year, then defend it in back-to-back fights with Diego Lopes.
While Volkanovski is nearing the end of his run, 32-year old Evloev, a perfect 20-0 in MMA, should have a few more good years left in the tank. The only knock on the former M-1 champion is that all of his fights in the UFC have gone the distance, meaning he hasn’t had a stoppage since 2018. That’s seen Eloev passed over by the likes of Lopes (who he beat) for a title shot, though he’s now made himself undeniable.
In the co-main event, Petr Yan (current UFC bantamweight champion) and Merab Dvalishvili meet for a third time, with their career series tied at one fight apiece.
UFC 333 takes place on October 24, 2026 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Be sure to catch the UFC 333 pre-fight press conference above. It all gets underway at 7PM ET, 4PM PT.