Volkanovski Faces Undefeated Evloev in Featherweight Title Defense at UFC 333

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Nearly seven years after first claiming UFC gold, Alexander Volkanovski remains the featherweight king. He’ll look to secure the second successful defense of his current title reign against undefeated challenger Movsar Evloev at UFC 333.

AgentMMA.com

Alexander Volkanovski will put his featherweight title on the line against unbeaten challenger Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, with the champion seeking the second successful defense of his current reign.

Volkanovski, 28-4, first won UFC gold nearly seven years ago and remains atop the 145-pound division at 38. The Australian from Freestyle Fighting Gym also sits third in the pound-for-pound rankings. His most recent recorded fight came on January 31, 2026, when he beat Diego Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 325 in their second meeting, after a unanimous-decision win over Lopes at UFC 314 in April 2025. His last recorded loss was a second-round knockout to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024. Volkanovski lands 5.99 significant strikes per minute at 57 percent accuracy.

Evloev, the division's number one contender, arrives at 20-0. The 32-year-old Russian trains at American Top Team, and his most recent recorded fight was a majority decision win over Lerone Murphy on March 21, 2026. Before that he beat Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310 in December 2024 and Arnold Allen at UFC 297 in January 2024, both by unanimous decision. His numbers point to a grappling-first approach: 4.78 takedowns per 15 minutes, against 3.91 significant strikes landed per minute at 47 percent accuracy.

Why it matters

Volkanovski's 5.99 strikes landed per minute is about two more than Evloev's 3.91, a gap of 2.08.
Evloev's takedown rate is nearly three times the champion's 1.63 per 15 minutes, making wrestling the central question.
Evloev's last three recorded wins all went to the scorecards, and Volkanovski's last two recorded wins were five-round decisions.
Evloev is six years younger, and the champion gives up only an inch of reach, 71 inches (180 cm) to 72 inches (183 cm), and two centimeters in height, 168 cm to 170 cm.

The matchup sets a champion who has built his recent run on volume striking against a challenger who has never lost and leans on takedowns to control fights.