Volkanovski Favored Over Evloev By UFC Roster

Alexander Volkanovski enters UFC 333 with backing from most of his fellow fighters to hand Movsar Evloev the first loss of his career.

The featherweight champion defends his belt Saturday in Abu Dhabi against the undefeated contender, with Volkanovski a slight favorite at minus-112 to Evloev's minus-108. In a poll conducted by BJPenn.com, five UFC athletes picked the champion and two went with the challenger.

Fighters Split On Volkanovski's Striking Versus Evloev's Grappling

Kai Kamaka believes the champion's well-rounded game gives him the edge. "Volkanovski can keep it standing and piece Movsar up to get the win," he told the outlet. John Castaneda pointed to conditioning as a factor, saying the champion's cardio and ability to fight everywhere make it tough to pick against him, while suggesting Evloev will struggle in the championship rounds.

Diego Ferreira went the other way, backing the challenger to use his wrestling and grappling to control Volkanovski. Gillian Robertson predicted Evloev would take a very close decision.

Dan Ige dismissed the challenger's chances of an early finish, saying Volkanovski is too well-rounded and Evloev lacks the power to stop him. Drakkar Klose called the champion super hard to beat and expects him to defend the wrestling and use his striking to get the job done.

UFC 333 takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena with the Volkanovski-Evloev main event capping the card.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — UFC 333 | Pro fighters make their picks for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev title fight