UFC 333 Prelims Betting Tips and Picks

UFC 333 goes down this weekend, and we have a blockbuster card from top to bottom. Headlined by a featherweight title fight,  Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev will be supported by Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili’s trilogy bout.

With a stacked main card, we focus on the prelims and give you our betting tips and picks ahead of a big night in Abu Dhabi.

UFC 333 Prelims Betting Tips and Picks

Grant Dawson to win outright

Grant Dawson returns for his second outing of 2026 and will look to continue his winning run. Last time out, the American submitted Mateusz Rebecki via rear-naked choke in the first round. 

Dawson takes on Nurullo Aliev, who holds an undefeated record at 12-0. To say that he’s entertaining is a stretch. He’s gone to a decision on 10 occasions and prefers to control his opponents rather than do damage. Last time out he took Mike Davis down eight times but landed just 13 significant strikes in 15 minutes.

Dawson is far better than the opponents that Aliev has fought before (Shem Rock, for example), and it will be too much of a step up. The American gets this one done.

Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev via knockout in Round 1

Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev returns after two straight finishes already this year. The 25-year-old is just 10-0, however, he has notched nine wins via finish and is a dangerous prospect. Last time out, he blitzed through Julius Walker in just eight seconds.

Although he’s had three UFC fights, he’s fought for a total of 3:33. To say he’s a quick starter is an understatement.

Standing across from the Turkish native will be veteran Nikita Krylov. The Miner is all-action; however, that isn’t always a good thing against someone as dangerous as Yakhyaev. Krylov has considerably more experience than his opponent with 43 professional fights, although with that experience comes cumulative damage.

Yakhyaev will get it done, likely in the first round.

Azamat Murzakanov via knockout

Azamat Murzakanov returns after the first loss of his career last time out. Taking on Paulo Costa, the Russian was finished in the third round via head kick. The loss snapped a 16-fight winning run, of which 13 have come via finish.

Murzakanov takes on Dominick Reyes at UFC 333. Reyes beat Johnny Walker last time out via split decision after losing via TKO to the champion, Carlos Ulberg, in September 2025. Reyes has suffered five knockout losses in his career, and his chin has often not held up. 

The headline will be ‘How can Murzakanov react to his first loss?’ and we’re predicting that he bounces back in a big way.