Alexander Volkanovski knows the questions about his age will follow him into the octagon.
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questions → know → octagon
He welcomes them.
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He → welcome → them
At 38, the UFC featherweight champion sees another opportunity to demonstrate how much he still has to offer when he faces unbeaten Movsar Evloev on Saturday in the main event of UFC 333 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
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he → see → Dhabi
Evloev has spent years imagining that meeting.
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Evloev → spend → meeting
His confidence rests on beating the champion at his best, rather than waiting for him to decline.
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him → rest → best
Their contrasting perspectives frame a card that also features bantamweight champion Petr Yan defending his belt against Merab Dvalishvili in the third meeting between the rivals.
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Yan → contrast → rivals
For Volkanovski, extending his career has required adjustments to preparation.
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extending → extend → preparation
He credits his team with managing nutrition, recovery and training demands while preserving the intensity that makes him effective.
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him → credit → intensity
“We need that intensity because that intensity needs to be the same that it was five years ago, but maybe not the volume,” Volkanovski said Wednesday.
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Volkanovski → need → intensity
He acknowledges he is a different athlete than he was in his early 20s.
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he → acknowledge → 20s
He believes his explosiveness, preparation and understanding of the sport can still produce one of his best performances.
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explosiveness → believe → performances
The chance to overcome another opponent whose strengths have troubled other contenders motivates him.
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strengths → overcome → him
“I just love challenging myself and overcoming them challenges,” Volkanovski said.
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Volkanovski → love → challenges
Evloev brings a 20-0 professional record, including victories in all 10 of his UFC appearances.
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Evloev → bring → appearances
Each of those UFC wins has come by decision, a record of sustained success that has also brought scrutiny of his fighting style.
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that → come → style
Asked Wednesday about criticism that the sport also demands entertainment, Evloev pointed to the opportunity in front of him.
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Evloev → ask → him
“I’m still here,” he said.
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he → ’m → ?
“And I’m fighting for the title, right?”
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I → fight → title
The challenger described the championship fight as the moment he had awaited throughout seven years with the promotion.
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he → describe → promotion
He began preparing for Volkanovski long before the matchup was scheduled, when the champion became the opponent he expected to face to reach his goal.
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he → begin → goal
“In my mind I won this fight thousands of times, and mentally I’m ready,” Evloev said.
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Evloev → win → times
Their mutual respect has done little to soften their assessments of the matchup.
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respect → do → matchup
Volkanovski praised Evloev’s wrestling but said controlling him and damaging him present different problems.
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controlling → praise → problems
He expects attempts to land strikes on the ground to create opportunities for him to escape.
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him → expect → opportunities
At the final pre-fight press conference Thursday, Volkanovski said he intends to force Evloev to strike by preventing sustained ground control.
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he → say → control
Evloev believes the cumulative demands of his approach will test that confidence.
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demands → believe → confidence
He acknowledged Volkanovski’s endurance but questioned whether previous opponents had imposed the kind of pressure he intends to bring.
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he → acknowledge → pressure
“I truly believe that nobody of his opponents give him the pressure I’m gonna bring this Saturday,” Evloev said Wednesday.
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Evloev → believe → pressure
The co-main event offers its own test of adaptation.
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event → offer → adaptation
Dvalishvili won their first meeting in March 2023.
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Dvalishvili → win → March
Yan reversed the result in December 2025, reclaiming the bantamweight championship and setting up Saturday’s deciding fight.
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Yan → reverse → fight
Yan supplied some of Thursday’s sharper words, promising a methodical approach against the challenger nicknamed “The Machine.”
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Yan → supply → challenger
“This machine is going to be taken apart, one detail at a time,” Yan said.
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Yan → go → time
Volkanovski’s confidence rests on his ability to adjust through whatever challenges arise.
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challenges → rest → ability
Evloev believes he has prepared for precisely that opponent.
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he → believe → opponent
“You can try and take me down all day,” Volkanovski said Wednesday.
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Volkanovski → try → me
“Even if you get it down, I’m gonna be smiling as I get back up, and be back in your face.”
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I → get → face
The Aporia
