UFC 333 Picks: Top DraftKings DFS Fantasy MMA Targets, Values for Volkanovski vs. Evloev

UFC 333 is only two days away! One of the greatest fighters of all time, Alexander Volkanovski, defends his UFC Featherweight title against Movsar Evloev in the Main Event. The second of two title fights on this card is for the Undisputed UFC Bantamweight Championship, with current king Petr Yan facing former foe Merab Dvalishvili. Since Saturday’s UFC 333 event is in Abu Dhabi, the Main Card starts at 2:00 p.m. ET and airs on Paramount+.

Set your DraftKings fantasy MMA lineups here: UFC $400K UFC 333 Special [$100K to 1st].

Check out my favorite fighters to add to your daily fantasy lineup for Saturday’s UFC 333 card.

Studs

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev ($9,400)

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, 25, has had a tremendous start to his MMA career. He is 10-0 with nine finishes and is 3-0 in the UFC, with three first-round finishes. Yakhyaev earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series after scoring a first-round knockout over Alik Lorenz. Yakhyaev has been extremely active, with this being his fourth fight in the last 14 months. 

Now, Yakhyaev takes on longtime UFC veteran Nikita Krylov, who is coming off a loss to Robert Whittaker. Since 2025, Krylov is 1-3 in his previous four contests, with each defeat coming by knockout. His last win came in January at UFC 324 against Modestas Bukauskas. 

Krylov is one inch taller (6’3″ vs. 6’2″), while Yakhyaev has a one-inch reach advantage (78″ vs. 77″) in this bout. Including his DWCS fight, Yakhyaev averages an absurd 11.11 takedowns per 15 minutes and 8.64 significant strikes per minute. Yakhyaev also lands significant strikes at a 68 percent rate and has 75 percent takedown accuracy. Yakhyaev’s pace and versatility should help him break Krylov down in this bout. In the UFC, Yakhyaev has scored 127.5, 109.5, and 134.1 fantasy points. Even as the competition has gotten tougher, Yakhyaev has still performed at a high level, and that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon. 

Alexander Volkanovski ($8,200)

Alexander Volkanovski has won two straight title fights and now will put his championship on the line against Movsar Evloev. Volkanovski is 8-3 in 11 UFC title fights and is currently in his second reign as Featherweight Champion. Over his previous two fights, Volkanovski has picked up back-to-back victories against Diego Lopes by unanimous decision. Evloev enters the fight undefeated at 20-0 with seven finishes and is coming off a win over Lerone Murphy. 

In this fight, Evloev has a one-inch edge in height (5’7″ vs. 5’6″) and standing reach (72″ vs. 71″). Volkanovski’s best skill is his elite striking; he averages 5.99 significant strikes per minute, 2.08 more than Evloev. Volkanovski also has 10 percent better striking accuracy (57% vs. 47%). Evloev excels on the ground, landing 4.78 takedowns per 15 minutes at a 52 percent rate. Volkanovski possesses an above-average 68 percent takedown defense, which will likely need to be used in this bout. 

Yes, Volkanovski is 38 years old and facing a hungry, undefeated contender, but he has defied the odds countless times and can do it again. Throughout his illustrious UFC career, Volkanovski is averaging 96.4 fantasy points per fight, which is impressive. He has scored 87.1 and 101.9 in his last two fights. Volkanovski has recorded 94-plus fantasy points in seven of his previous eight victories. If Volkanovski can once again display elite takedown defense while keeping this fight on the feet more often, the reigning champion should be able to get the best of Evloev. 

Value Play

Merab Dvalishvili ($7,400)

Petr Yan defends the UFC Bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili in the final bout of their trilogy. At UFC 323 in December 2025, Yan defeated Dvalishvili by unanimous decision to become a two-time Bantamweight Champion. The first fight between these two occurred in March 2023, which Dvalishvili beat Yan. Before Dvalishvili’s recent loss, he was on a 14-fight winning streak spanning seven-plus years.

Dvalishvili held the UFC Bantamweight title from September 2024 to December 2025, recording four title fights with three defenses in that span. Now the once-dominant champion, Dvalishvili is seeking his first victory since October 2025. Dvalishvili has a one-inch reach advantage (68″ vs. 67) while the defending champion has a slight edge in height (5’7″ vs. 5’6″). Yan averages more significant strikes per minute (5.16 vs. 4.42) at a higher rate (54% vs. 41%) than Dvalishvili. But Dvalishvili absorbs 1.44 fewer significant strikes per minute. Dvalishvili does his best work on the ground, landing 5.97 takedowns per 15 minutes. Even with 35 percent takedown accuracy, Dvalishvili usually finds success by attempting a ton of takedowns until he gets the best of his opponent. 

On the UFC 333 card, Dvalishvili is the sixth-cheapest fighter at $7,400, while averaging the second-most points per fight at 123.4. In Dvalishvili’s two fights against Yan, he scored 167.2 and 90.4 fantasy points. Yan showed in his last fight that, even in a loss, he can still be a high-level fantasy contributor. With Dvalishvili having 10 months off, we’ll likely see a much better version of “The Machine”. To find more success against Yan, Dvalishvili must get off to a quick start by being aggressive while taking the fight to the ground. At his best, Dvalishvili has a skill set that can beat anyone in the world. 

Set your DraftKings fantasy MMA lineups here: UFC $400K UFC 333 Special [$100K to 1st].

Stats provided by UFC Stats.