Alexander Volkanovski is 38 years old, he is defending the UFC featherweight title for the second time in his second reign, and he is fighting a man who has never lost. He says it is going to be the best anyone has seen him look.
He is also willing to say out loud the part most champions bury.
The Prediction and the Admission
“I truly do believe after this fight, people will be saying, that’s one of Alex’s best performances we’ve seen,” Volkanovski told MMA Fighting.
Then the caveat, unprompted: “Does that mean I’m in my prime? Does that mean this is the best Volk that there ever was? No, I’m not saying that. But I’m saying stylistically in the fight I’m going to bring, I truly believe people will be saying that this is the best version of Alex they’ve ever seen.”
He conceded something else too, about Movsar Evloev: “He’s more well rounded, he’s got a lot more tools, a lot more things he can do, but all these other things that give so many other people problems, they just don’t give me any problem.”
And the confidence underneath it: “I think he’s the best outside myself. I think he beats everyone else in the division.” Followed by, “I just don’t think anyone can beat me for 25 minutes,” and, “I truly do believe I can put him out before the fifth round.”
Evloev Is the Real Problem
Evloev is 32 and 20-0, including 10-0 in the UFC. Every one of those 10 UFC wins came by decision. Across his career he has three knockouts, four submissions and 13 decisions, which is the profile of a fighter who controls rounds rather than ending them.
He earned the shot with a majority-decision win over Lerone Murphy in London on March 21, a title eliminator in which he lost a point in the fourth round for an illegal groin strike.
His own framing is a direct counter to Volkanovski’s. “The title fight has come at the best time. Because now is my prime. I’m 32 and don’t feel like I’m tired,” Evloev said. He added, “I’m expecting him to be at this level that when I beat him, nobody will say he’s not like before,” and, on the champion, “Volk is not fake. He’s the real one.”
What Volkanovski Has Left
He is 28-4. He reclaimed the vacant title with a unanimous decision over Diego Lopes at UFC 314 in April 2025, then defended it against Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 325 in February. Both were Fight of the Night.
Two decision wins over the same opponent at 37 and 38 is not the record of a fighter in decline. It is also not the record of someone finishing people, which is what he is promising to do here.
The Card
UFC 333 is Saturday, October 24, at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It is the UFC’s 24th visit to the city and the 11th numbered event there, the first since UFC 321 in October 2025.
The co-main is a bantamweight title trilogy, Petr Yan defending against Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili won the first in March 2023 by unanimous decision. Yan won the second at UFC 323 last December, regaining the belt and ending Dvalishvili’s 14-fight win streak.
The rest of the main card: Aaron Pico vs. Losene Keita at featherweight, Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev at heavyweight, and Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Ramazonbek Temirov at flyweight.
Prelims start at 11 a.m. ET with the main card at 2 p.m. ET, an afternoon slot for American audiences.
The Honest Read
Volkanovski telling you he is not in his prime while predicting his best performance is not a contradiction. It is a fighter who understands that style beats athleticism in a specific matchup, and who has beaten better strikers than Evloev by being smarter for 25 minutes.
Evloev has not lost in 20 fights. Volkanovski has lost to exactly two men. One of those records is about to change.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.