Volkanovski vs. Evloev: Old Training Partners Meet at UFC 333

Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight title against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, and the two men have history that predates either one's UFC contract. Long before the belt entered the equation, they logged rounds together at the same gym — back when Evloev was closing out an M-1 bantamweight title run and Volkanovski, now 28-4, was climbing toward the top of the 145-pound division.

The timeline matters. Evloev says the sessions happened after Volkanovski's win over Chad Mendes and before his bouts with Jose Aldo — roughly 2018, an era ago in fight-camp years. Evloev enters this one at a perfect 20-0, coming off a majority-decision win over Lerone Murphy in March. Volkanovski, soon to be 38, has lost just once at featherweight across his entire career.

No Sentiment, No Grudge

Volkanovski remembers the work but isn't reading anything into it. He pointed out that Evloev was young at the time and that old sparring tells you nothing about a fight seven years later — all he cares about is how the challenger has looked recently. He described Evloev as a good guy he respects, name-checked mutual connections, then made clear that respect ends at the cage door on Oct. 24.

Evloev, for his part, wants no asterisks. He said he expects Volkanovski at his absolute peak precisely so nobody can claim the champ was diminished when he loses. He's heard that story before — beating champions pre-UFC only for people to write them off as past-it or under-prepared — and he's not interested in hearing it again.

The Champion's Answer

Volkanovski isn't shy about obliging. He's promising his best, and predicting fans will call it one of the finest performances of his career. He stopped short of claiming it'll be the prime version of himself, but framed it stylistically: the fight he plans to bring, he says, will look like the best Volk anyone's seen.

The context sharpens the stakes. Volkanovski has rebuilt after a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria, stringing together back-to-back title wins over Diego Lopes — now the No. 2 contender at 28-8. Beat Evloev and he erases the last unbeaten name in the division. Lose, and Evloev's 20-0 gets its defining scalp. Careful what you wish for.