There’s plenty of intrigue in UFC 333 betting this Saturday, with two title fights topping a stacked card in Abu Dhabi. Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight title against the unbeaten Movsar Evloev in the main event at Etihad Arena, while Petr Yan puts the bantamweight belt on the line against Merab Dvalishvili in a trilogy fight tied at one win apiece.
Beneath them, the depth is just as good. Heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov is in action, two-time UFC title challenger Dominick Reyes returns in a light heavyweight showdown, and Lone’er Kavanagh is also on the bill in the flyweight division. With this much quality on show, there’s plenty to dig into before the first bell, so let’s get to it.
Petr Yan v Merab Dvalishvili
UFC Bantamweight Title Bout, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 9.45pm CET, Saturday 24th October
Prices: 1.59 Petr Yan, 2.31 Merab Dvalishvili (5.00 Boosted odds available on Stake.com)
Merab Dvalishvili spent 2025 doing something no bantamweight champion should be able to do. He was chasing a fourth title defense in a single calendar year, having beaten Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen on a 14-fight winning streak. Then it ended at UFC 323, where Petr Yan won a unanimous decision to reclaim the belt and level the trilogy at one win apiece.
But look closer at how it happened. Merab had fought 18 rounds in the previous 12 months, and was still competitive with Yan through the first two. That’s a fighter running on empty, not one who’s been solved. Now he’s had ten months to recover and regroup, and he has promised new tools for the third fight. Yan has lost to Aljamain Sterling twice and Sean O’Malley, and Merab already owns a win over him from 2023, so the blueprint exists.
Bookmakers make Yan the favourite, and that December result will keep Merab’s price tempting. A rested Merab with a plan is the kind of bet the market tends to undervalue. It’s a tight fight that probably goes the distance, and at the price, Merab is the play.
Tip: Merab Dvalishvili to win @ 2.31 (5.00 Boosted odds available on Stake.com). 1 unit.
Alex Volkanovski v Movsar Evloev
UFC Featherweight Title Bout, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 10.30pm CET, Saturday 24th October
Prices: 1.87 Alex Volkanovski, 1.90 Movsar Evloev
Few title fights are as hard to split as this one. Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev are caught in a pure pick’em, with both listed at identical odds, and the Russian arrives at 20-0 after beating Lerone Murphy in March. The winner is a coin flip, but the shape of the fight is far easier to read.
Evloev has won all ten of his UFC fights, and he’s the first fighter to open a UFC career with ten straight decision wins. His average fight time ranks third longest in featherweight history. He wins with wrestling and control, not one-shot power. Volkanovski’s only stoppage losses came against two of the most dangerous finishers of the era: a first-round knockout to Islam Makhachev in October 2023 and a second-round TKO to Ilia Topuria in February 2024. Evloev isn’t in that class, and the champion is too smart and experienced to hand him an early opening.
Volkanovski has finished fights before, but this is potentially his toughest test, and Evloev won’t give him many chances to land the shot that ends it. Over five rounds, both men’s styles point towards the scorecards. The market knows it, so it’s a short price, but, as picking a winner is a gamble, picking this fight to go the distance is the confident call.
Tip: Fight to go the distance @ 1.38. 3 units.
Check out For Foot Sake’s MMA tipping record here.