# Volkanovski vs Evloev at UFC 333 Sports · Heat 2.0 / 10 · 2 shows · 2h 44m airtime Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev were matched in the UFC 333 main event, announced October 24. Volkanovski stopped the undefeated Evloev by second-round TKO at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. Volkanovski later said he had a chest infection before the fight and refused medicine so there would be no asterisk, adding that he declined it because Evloev could not take it. He says he would retire, win or lose, if given a lightweight title fight, and White says the UFC would not say no. White also said he cannot promise Evloev will not be released, while Jean Silva says he won a UFC fan vote on who should be next. Page: https://boilpoints.com/point/volkanovski_vs_evloev_at_ufc_333_836425524 ## Segments - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-22, 34:44 to 35:56: **Compares Volkanovski's look to Street Fighter**. Light banter from the UFC 333 press conference: Volkanovski's red pants and hair get compared to his Street Fighter character and to Peaky Blinders. No news, just the look. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-22, 57:54 to 1:12:35: **Breaks down Evloev's wrestling volume**. Long preview of the UFC 333 main event: Evloev's wrestling volume, the zero takedowns against Lerone Murphy, Makhachev's control as a template. One host leans Evloev, the other picks Volkanovski. Analysis and prediction, no new development. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-23, 16:06 to 27:54: **Leans Evloev over Volkanovski on grappling and age**. Previews the UFC 333 main event: Volkanovski's age and wrestling defense against Evloev's grappling and 20-0 record, with both hosts leaning slightly to Evloev. A build-up segment that stays inside the matchup and the odds. - [The Herd with Colin Cowherd](https://boilpoints.com/u/theherdwithcolincowherd), 2026-10-24, 10:21 to 12:28: **Lays out Volkanovski's plan to finish Evloev**. Volkanovski, in conversation with Cormier, lays out how he plans to beat Evloev at UFC 333: refuse to be held down, force him to strike, and finish him. Cormier supplies the context that all 10 of Evloev's UFC wins are decisions and that Aldo and Johnson have knocked his style. New angle: Volkanovski says he will finish Evloev in the UFC 333 main event. - [The Herd with Colin Cowherd](https://boilpoints.com/u/theherdwithcolincowherd), 2026-10-24, 12:31 to 15:20: **Notes Evloev's first five-round fight**. Volkanovski, asked by Cormier, says the first Makhachev camp and fight carry over into his grappling plan for Evloev: holding him down only drains Evloev's gas tank. Cormier notes Evloev has never made championship weight and this is his first five-round fight. New angle: UFC 333 is Evloev's first five-round fight and his first time making championship weight. - [The Herd with Colin Cowherd](https://boilpoints.com/u/theherdwithcolincowherd), 2026-10-24, 19:02 to 20:31: **Adds Volkanovski's career-lightest weight claim**. Closes the interview with Volkanovski saying he is at the lightest and leanest weight of his career during fight week, then promotes the Paramount Plus broadcast and Cooking with Volk. A first-person claim about his condition ahead of UFC 333 that the card did not have. New angle: Volkanovski says he is at the lightest and leanest weight of his career during UFC 333 fight week. - [The Herd with Colin Cowherd](https://boilpoints.com/u/theherdwithcolincowherd), 2026-10-24, 0:27 to 3:01: **Profiles Evloev's faith and unbeaten run**. Cormier interviews Evloev three days out from UFC 333. Evloev recounts his 20-0 record, his American Top Team training base in Florida, and how his Muslim faith kept him patient through the wait for a title shot. Background and profile, not a development in the matchup. - [The Herd with Colin Cowherd](https://boilpoints.com/u/theherdwithcolincowherd), 2026-10-24, 6:13 to 8:25: **Presses Evloev on title-shot pressure**. Cormier presses Evloev on whether the long wait for a title shot creates pressure to win. Evloev says he does not think about winning or losing, that the outcome is written, and that a loss is an option he could accept with dignity. Stays inside the matchup's readiness debate. - [The Herd with Colin Cowherd](https://boilpoints.com/u/theherdwithcolincowherd), 2026-10-24, 8:35 to 10:43: **Puts Evloev on record about the criticism**. Puts Evloev on the record about the criticism from Johnson and Aldo: he says Johnson texted him a year ago asking him on his interview, and that he may have hurt Aldo by calling him a champion from an era of looser doping tests. New angle: Evloev says Johnson texted him a year ago asking him to appear on his interview. - [The Herd with Colin Cowherd](https://boilpoints.com/u/theherdwithcolincowherd), 2026-10-24, 10:46 to 12:52: **Adds Evloev's stated intent to finish**. Evloev, asked what a stoppage would mean, says he is after a finish and not just the belt, and that Abu Dhabi may be the only place he matches Volkanovski's support. Adds the challenger's own stated intent and the ticket demand. New angle: Evloev says he is looking for a finish, not just the belt, and that thousands have asked him for tickets. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-24, 0:16 to 4:20: **Reacts to the main event and next opponents**. Immediate reaction to the UFC 333 main event: the second-round TKO, Evloev's 20-0 record going in, Volkanovski at 38, and the anniversary line. Runs through the next-opponent board - Jean Silva in the building, Sterling booked against Vallejos on November 21 - but stays inside what the result already established. - [The Herd with Colin Cowherd](https://boilpoints.com/u/theherdwithcolincowherd), 2026-10-25, 1:20 to 5:27: **Recaps Volkanovski's second-round finish**. Post-fight reaction from Abu Dhabi: Volkanovski stopped Evloev in the second round, delivering on the finish he predicted to Cormier during fight week. Runs through the second title reign at 38, the Makhachev and Topuria losses, and the retirement talk, then lists Silva and a Gaethje super fight as options. New angle: Volkanovski stopped the undefeated Evloev by second-round TKO at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-26, 14:28 to 21:49: **Argues Volkanovski is the greatest featherweight**. Reflects on Volkanovski's career arc after UFC 333 and argues he is the greatest featherweight ever and in the conversation for greatest Australian athlete. The one new fact: he fought through a chest infection and refused medicine so there would be no asterisk. New angle: Volkanovski had a chest infection before UFC 333 and refused medicine so there would be no asterisk. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-26, 22:02 to 25:38: **Plays Volkanovski on the chest infection**. Plays the post-fight clip of Volkanovski confirming the chest infection and explaining why he turned down medication the UFC and his team said was allowed. It retells the sickness story the show already put on the record, adding only that his team was unhappy with the call. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-26, 26:05 to 31:44: **Argues against Volkanovski moving to lightweight**. Post-UFC 333 debate over what comes next: the hosts argue against Volkanovski moving up to lightweight for Justin Gaethje, playing Dana White's openness and Volkanovski's own retirement talk against the featherweight contenders waiting. Opinion and framing, but it puts two on-the-record statements about the next step on the record. New angle: Volkanovski says he would retire, win or lose, if given a lightweight title fight; White says the UFC would not say no. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-26, 32:01 to 35:01: **Adds White's refusal to promise Evloev's spot**. Picks up Evloev's side of the UFC 333 aftermath: his social media statement in defeat and Dana White's refusal at the pre-fight presser to promise Evloev would not be released. Argues he should stay and rebuild. New angle: Dana White said he cannot promise Evloev will not be released. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-26, 36:31 to 43:02: **Debates Volkanovski's all-time featherweight standing**. Debates Volkanovski's all-time featherweight standing after UFC 333, weighing his one loss at 145 to Topuria against Aldo's head-to-head losses and Holloway's three defeats to him. Argument and framing, not new reporting; also restates opposition to a lightweight move. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-27, 1:08:22 to 1:10:46: **Reflects on Volkanovski's win at 38**. Kavanagh reflects on Volkanovski's win at 38 over an undefeated opponent, floating a 15-year window of excellence and noting Volkanovski found MMA in his mid-20s. Reaction and theory, staying inside the UFC 333 result. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-28, 1:00:43 to 1:35:36: **Reports Jean Silva's claim to a fan vote**. Jean Silva, front row in Abu Dhabi, says he expected Volkanovski's second-round stoppage and was not surprised given the chest infection. The bulk of the interview is his case for the next title shot, including a fan vote he says he won and a rebuttal to Joe Lopez. New angle: Jean Silva says the UFC held a fan vote on who should be next and he won it. - [The Ariel Helwani Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thearielhelwanishow), 2026-10-28, 3:03:04 to 3:52:05: **Interviews Volkanovski on the refused medication**. Long sit-down with Volkanovski after UFC 333: the illness timeline, the refused in-competition medication, and his lightweight plans. Adds his stated reason for turning the medicine down and the fact that the UFC has not called about his next fight. New angle: Volkanovski says he refused the medication because Evloev could not take it, and the UFC has not called about his next fight.