UFC 333 Winners Face Immediate Rematch Paths

Alexander Volkanovski stopped Movsar Evloev in the second round at UFC 333 to retain his featherweight championship. The victory sets up a potential cross-weight class title fight for the Australian champion against lightweight contender Charles Oliveira.

Oliveville holds the BMF title and faces Diego Lopes at UFC 335 in December. A win would clear the path for a bout against Volkanovski in 2027. Volkanovski has three losses in the UFC, two of which occurred at lightweight. He told ESPN in September that he did not want to fight Justin Gaethje for the lightweight belt without a clear path to the title.

Petr Yan defeated Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision to complete a trilogy between the two men. The bantamweight champion now faces a choice between Sean O'Malley and Song Yadong for his next fight. O'Malley holds a controversial victory over Yan from 2022 and has won two fights since losing to Dvalishvili in 2024 and 2025.

Song Yadong defeated O'Malley in January. He also knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov with a single strike. Yan has faced both fighters before. O'Malley has two wins since his last loss, including a knockout of Aiemann Zahabi and a close decision over Song.

Dvalishvili is expected to fight again before the end of the year. The most likely opponent is Umar Nurmagomedov. Their first fight at UFC 311 in January 2025 was named fight of the night. Nurmagomedov broke his hand early in that bout, and Dvalishvili revealed he fought through injuries during camp. Both fighters are coming off losses.

Nurmagomedov will likely return by January to avoid fighting during Ramadan, which begins in February. The UFC often pairs fighters who have recently lost. Payton Talbott is another option for Dvalishvili. Talbott is 28 years old and has shown potential that the promotion has rewarded with shortcuts in the past.

Aaron Pico is linked with a fight against Jean Silva. Pico defeated Patricio Pitbull in April. Silva is moving to lightweight to face Charles Oliveira in December. Pico has suffered devastating finishes throughout his career. Youssef Zalal is a wildcard option for Pico. Zalal was cut by the UFC in 2021 after going 0-3, then won five consecutive fights before losing to Aljamain Sterling in April.

Movsar Evloev will next face a gatekeeper role. Pat Sabatini is 9-2 in the UFC and is the most obvious choice for the next fight. Steve Garcia is another option, coming off a loss to Diego Lopes at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Evloev has been unbeaten until his loss to Volkanovski at UFC 333.