With less than one day left until UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, Alexander Volkanovski is set to enter the Octagon to defend his UFC Featherweight Championship against Movsar Evloev. Before this matchup, Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes twice — first to reclaim the vacant belt and then to successfully defend it.
Whether the 38-year-old veteran champion can turn back his undefeated opponent on Saturday night is a million-dollar question of the weekend right now. But if he wins, the No. 10-ranked featherweight is already looking forward to taking that belt from “The Great.”
Kevin Vallejos Maps His Path to Alexander Volkanovski Through Aljamain Sterling
The 145-pound division is deep, and young strikers keep pushing up the rankings. Kevin Vallejos is one of them. He already has a plan for whoever leaves Abu Dhabi with the gold. However, his road runs directly through a former champion on November 21.
The Argentine contender stands at 18-1 overall and 4-0 in the UFC. He meets former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in the co-main event of UFC Qatar on November 21. In his prediction just before the fight at Etihad Arena, Vallejos picks Volkanovski to beat Evloev, expecting the champion to defend the takedowns and successfully get back to his feet.
Vallejos explained to MMA Fighting why he wants that result, stating, “If I knock Sterling out, I would like to fight Volkanovski. I would like to take the title away from Volkanovski.”
He believes that while the undefeated Movsar Evloev has built an impressive 20-0 run, dethroning a long-reigning king won’t be an easy task for the Russian fighter.
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Sharing his expectation for a highly competitive bout, he added, “[Evloev] will make things difficult for Volk, very difficult, but I see Volk winning. He has fought bigger guys, like Islam, and it took a lot to take him down. I think that if Evloev tries to take Volk down, Volk will know very well how to defend himself or get back to his feet.”
(1/2) Kevin Vallejos wants to be the one to detrhone Alex Volkanovski after #UFC333:
“If I knock [Aljamain] Sterling out, I would like to fight Volkanovski. I would like to take the title away from Volkanovski.”
(🎥 @guicruzzz) https://t.co/sO3KiFj8e3
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 23, 2026
However, a major roadblock Vallejos could face in his dream to challenge for the featherweight title is Jean Silva, who is currently ranked No. 5 in the division with a 7-1 record in the UFC and an 18-3 record overall. Silva is the only fighter to ever defeat the Argentine contender across his 19 professional opponents. Moreover, due to his higher ranking, he sits with a much better chance to get a title opportunity before Vallejos.
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But first, Vallejos must deal with his most immediate hurdle, Aljamain Sterling. If Sterling wins, Vallejos will be left with absolutely no option to challenge whoever walks away with the title at UFC 333.
