Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev are locked in.
On Oct. 24, Volkanovski looks to make the second defense of his reclaimed featherweight title when he takes on the undefeated Evloev in the main event of UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. For Volkanovski, it’s a chance to add to his already Hall of Fame-worthy legacy and solidify his claim as the best 145-pounder in the world, while Evloev finally gets his shot at a UFC title. But even with so much on the line, both men looked very calm for their first faceoff at the UFC 333 opening press conference on Friday in Los Angeles.
Throughout the press conference, both Volkanovski and Evloev — who briefly trained together many years ago — were highly respectful of each other, and that energy carried through to their first faceoff, where they shook hands and then gestured to the crowd.
The co-main event for UFC 333 is perhaps even more heavily anticipated as Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili look to settle their rivalry in a trilogy bout for bantamweight gold. Dvalishvili is the last man to beat Yan, taking a decision from him in 2023, but Yan got his revenge in December, winning a decision over Dvalishvili and taking the 135-pound belt from him. With so much history between the two of them, things got a little more intense in their faceoff, though nothing untoward occurred.
