Alexander Volkanovski is not hiding his confidence heading into UFC 333. According to Ag. Fight and mmamania.com MMA Mania, the featherweight champion is promising a wild performance against Movsar Evloev, with sherdog.com and Yahoo Sports both reporting he expects to finish the unbeaten challenger rather than play it safe on the scorecards.

That task is no small thing. Evloev carries a 20-0 record, with 20% of his wins by submission and 65% by decision, a point mmamania.com MMA Mania highlighted as the core of his style. He is grinding, relentless and allergic to taking risks on the feet, which is exactly why a stoppage prediction from Volkanovski stands out.

Our own numbers make this a legitimate coin flip. Volkanovski rates 1505 on our Elo over six bouts, while Evloev sits higher at 1597 across four. Our model actually favors the challenger slightly, giving Evloev 59 percent to Volkanovski's 41, and according to the betting lines reported by the source, Movsar Evloev is priced at minus 108. Evloev is the number one ranked featherweight in the UFC and enters off a decision win over Lerone Murphy on March twenty-first, so he brings momentum into the cage.

The matchup has fans buzzing as well.

Should Volkanovski back up his words on October twenty-fourth, it would mark the first blemish on Evloev's record and a statement win for a champion who has also floated the idea of a final career fight against lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. First, though, he has to get past the UFC's most stubborn featherweight in Abu Dhabi.