Kevin Vallejos has Personal Preference for UFC 333

Kevin Vallejos (18-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) may not be fighting for another month, but he'll be watching Saturday's UFC 333 with interest. During the main event of the evening on Saturday, the UFC Featherweight Championship will be at stake.

Current titleholder Alexander Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will defend the title for the first time against challenger and No. 1 contender Movsar Evloev (20-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC.) This main event is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round.

Currently, Kevin Vallejos sits at No. 9 in the rankings at 145 lbs. Four weeks from Saturday, Vallejos travels to Qatar for the co-main event of the last UFC Fight Night before the Thanksgiving holiday. That weekend, he'll verse No. 4 contender Aljamain Sterling (26-5 MMA, 18-5 UFC) for a crucial fight at featherweight.

Kevin Vallejos Eager for UFC 333 Main Event

The outcome of Saturday's main event during UFC 333 from Etihad Arena has major ramifications as to who Kevin Vallejos might face off against in his first fight of 2027. Ahead of this week's card, Vallejos was interviewed by MMA Fighting, being asked for his opinion on the result of this week's headliner.

In a perfect world for Vallejos, after he battles Aljamain Sterling in late November, he'd want to fight Volkanovski early on in the new year.

"I would like Volkanovski," Kevin Vallejos began. "I would like that because If I knock Sterling out, I would like to fight Volkanovski. I would like to take the title away from Volkanovski."

Vallejos Gives Plaudit to Movsar Evloev

Standing in Alexander Volkanovski's way of a successful defense of the UFC Featherweight Championship on Saturday night is an undefeated challenger in the form of Movsar Evloev. Heading into UFC 333 this weekend, Evloev has recorded half of his professional victories under the UFC promotional banner.

The conversation with MMA Fighting shifted to the No. 1 contender, a fighter who Kevin Vallejos gives respect to.

"Evloev also has everything he needs to win," he said of the challenger. "He is 20-0. He has a very good record, but beating a guy who dominated the entire division for a long time, I think has more weight behind him when it comes to winning the title."

To that extent, Kevin Vallejos predicts that the UFC 333 main event will be a daunting task for the champion on Saturday night.

"I see Volk winning," Vallejos continued. "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."