Volkanovski eyes Oliveira after stopping Evloev in two rounds at UFC 333

Alexander Volkanovski stopped Movsar Evloev in the second round at UFC 333 on Saturday night. The victory secured the featherweight belt for the Australian. Evloev enters this fight with a 14-0 record. He is now 14-1. Volkanovski has three losses in the UFC. Two of those defeats occurred at lightweight. He could return to that weight class. A matchup with Charles Oliveira is the primary option. Oliveira will defend the BMF title against Diego Lopes in December at UFC 335. Both fighters are considered top tier in mixed martial arts. A bout in 2027 would pit two active legends against each other. Volkanovski told ESPN in September that he did not want to jump the line at lightweight. He cited Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan as obstacles. A win over Oliveira would make Volkanovski a serious contender for the 155-pound belt. Tsarukyan remains a wild card. If Gaethje retires after his June victory, Tsarukyan is next in line. Volkanovski would be a logical choice for that title shot.

Petr Yan defeated Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision. The result ended their trilogy with a win for the bantamweight champion. Dvalishvili holds a victory over Yan from 2022. That fight was controversial. Yan now faces a choice for his next bout. Sean O'Malley is the most prominent name. O'Malley is 2-0 since losing to Dvalishvili in 2024 and 2025. He beat Song Yadong and Aiemann Zahabi in that span. Song has a strong case for a title shot. O'Malley defeated Song in January. A rematch between Yan and O'Malley would be a technical chess match. Song offers more power and speed. He knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov with a single shot in the corner. Yan will likely face both men. O'Malley makes sense as the first choice.

Dvalishvili is expected to fight soon. He waited ten months for his trilogy bout. He now comes off a second consecutive loss. A rematch with Nurmagomedov is a likely next step. Their first fight was the fight of the night at UFC 311 in January 2025. Nurmagomedov broke his hand early in that bout. Dvalishvili fought through injuries during that camp. Both men are now coming off losses. Nurmagomedov will likely return before Ramadan begins in February. Payton Talbott is another option. He is 28 years old. He has shown high potential. A loss for him would not be fatal to his career. A win would make him a title contender.

Featherweight Aaron Pico is also looking for a fight. A matchup with Jean Silva is possible. Silva is moving to lightweight to fight Oliveira in December. Pico beat Patricio Pitbull in April. He has a history of being finished decisively. Youssef Zalal is a wild card. He lost to Aljamain Sterling in April. He had won five fights in a row before that defeat.