UFC 333: Volkanovski–Evloev and Yan–Merab 3 headline Abu Dhabi’s double title night
Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena stacks two championship fights: Volkanovski defends against undefeated Evloev, and Yan meets Merab Dvalishvili in a trilogy first defense.
A newspaper of weight classes
Every UFC story lives under a division. The summary comes first.
Toggle a class. Read the state of the room — then the file, newest to oldest. Original editorial illustrations will replace these placeholder slots. Sample stories are labeled so they cannot be mistaken for reporting.
Latest UFC stories
Tom Aspinall vacates the UFC heavyweight title — eye complications force the call
Aspinall stepped aside Monday rather than hold up the division while eye complications block medical clearance. Ciryl Gane remains interim champion; elevation to undisputed is expected but not yet UFC-announced.
Where Tom Aspinall’s UFC heavyweight title stands — and what Dana White actually said
Tom Aspinall remains the UFC heavyweight Title Holder, Ciryl Gane holds the interim, and Dana White has opened a conversation about the belt — not a strip, and not a vacate.
UFC 331 week: Van–Pantoja 2 headlines LA — and a lightweight co-main the UFC won’t call a title shot
Crypto.com UFC 331 lands Saturday, Sept. 19, in Los Angeles with a flyweight title rematch unfinished business demanded — and a five-round lightweight co-main fighters are selling harder than Dana White will.
Noche UFC fallout: who actually moved the title pictures — and who only asked
Three Noche results reshaped the talk at featherweight, women’s flyweight, and men’s flyweight — without rewriting the Octagon calendar at UFC 331, 332, and 333.
Divisions
Men's Flyweight · 125 lb
Van vs. Pantoja II lands Saturday. The rest of 125 waits.
Joshua Van is flyweight champion after ending Alexandre Pantoja's long reign and finishing Tatsuro Taira. UFC 331 puts the rematch on in Los Angeles this Saturday — and Manel Kape's claim is still noise without a date.
2 stories
Men's Bantamweight · 135 lb
Yan's first defense is Merab III at UFC 333.
Petr Yan reclaimed the bantamweight belt from Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323 and has zero defenses. The first one is already a trilogy — Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi — while Song and O'Malley split the No. 2 conversation behind them.
1 story
Men's Featherweight · 145 lb
Volk–Evloev is the title fight. Silva's ask is not a booking.
Alexander Volkanovski's second reign heads to UFC 333 against Movsar Evloev. Diego Lopes, Lerone Murphy, and Jean Silva fill out the contender picture — with Silva's Noche heat still short of a printed title date.
2 stories
Men's Lightweight · 155 lb
Gaethje holds the belt. UFC 331 auditions the next challenger.
Justin Gaethje is undisputed lightweight champion with zero defenses and no 2026 return on the books — secondary reporting points to a 2027 window. No interim. Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy on Saturday is the de facto next-shot audition.
1 story
Men's Welterweight · 170 lb
Makhachev holds 170. No title fight is booked.
Islam Makhachev defended the welterweight belt in August. The next challenger is still unsettled — and the only ranked 170 main on the calendar is Buckley–Malott in Edmonton.
0 stories
Men's Middleweight · 185 lb
Strickland has the belt. He has not defended it.
Sean Strickland is middleweight champion with zero defenses and no title fight on any event page. Imavov–Strickland for UFC 335 and Chimaev’s return talk remain fighter and media noise — not bookings.
0 stories
Men's Light Heavyweight · 205 lb
Ulberg is champ, out with an ACL, and there is no interim.
Carlos Ulberg won the vacant light heavyweight title in April, tore his ACL days later, and is targeting early 2027. Magomed Ankalaev is the top active 205 contender while Alex Pereira stays at heavyweight.
0 stories
Men's Heavyweight · 265 lb
Aspinall vacated. Gane holds interim. Elevation still pending.
Tom Aspinall stepped aside Monday over eye complications that block medical clearance. Ciryl Gane remains interim champion — elevation to undisputed is expected but not yet UFC-announced, and UFC.com still lags.
2 stories
Women's Strawweight · 115 lb
Dern defended once. Nobody is booked next.
Mackenzie Dern is strawweight champion after a vacant-title win and a first defense at UFC 330. Zhang Weili sits No. 1 with no return or weight confirmed. No title fight is on the calendar.
0 stories
Women's Flyweight · 125 lb
Belt vacant. Silva vs. Wang Cong for it Oct. 3.
UFC news vacated women’s flyweight on Sept. 5 after Valentina Shevchenko’s injury step-aside. Rankings still list her as champion — site lag. Natalia Silva and Wang Cong fight for the vacant title in the UFC 332 main event in Salt Lake City.
1 story
Women's Bantamweight · 135 lb
Harrison still champ. Zero defenses. No date.
Kayla Harrison has not defended since the kimura of Julianna Peña at UFC 316. Neck surgery scrubbed return plans; Harrison–Nunes for UFC 331 collapsed. Manager talk of a 2026 fight is not on an event page.
0 stories
Women's Featherweight · 145 lb · Dormant
Dormant. No rankings. No 2026 title path.
Women’s featherweight has no UFC.com rankings section, no active champion, and no title fight on the 2026 calendar. Amanda Nunes’ return is at bantamweight.
Empty state