Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev Fight Card Suffers Major Blow

The UFC 333 fight card has encountered a significant setback as the featherweight matchup between No. 7-ranked Arnold Allen and No. 12-ranked Aaron Pico has been canceled.

Arnold Allen has pulled out of the bout due to ongoing rehabilitation from previous treatments, leading to Losene Keita stepping in as his replacement.

Losene Keita (17-2) recently earned his first UFC win in impressive fashion by knocking out Muhammad Naimov in the first round at UFC Paris. After the knockout went viral, Keita celebrated by sitting front row outside the octagon cheering for himself and subsequently challenged top contender Lerone Murphy.

Now, the former two-division OKTAGON champion faces perhaps the toughest UFC challenge of his career as he takes on Aaron Pico.

Aaron Pico also secured his first UFC triumph earlier this year, defeating Patricio Pitbull by unanimous decision at UFC 327. However, his UFC debut saw him fall to Lerone Murphy—the very fighter Keita aimed to challenge after UFC Paris.

According to MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Allen had to exit the Pico fight because he is still recovering from prior medical treatments and won’t have enough time to be ready for UFC 333. Reports suggest Allen might make a return to the octagon before 2026 concludes. Heck shared on X (formerly Twitter):

“Arnold Allen is out of his UFC 333 matchup with Aaron Pico, per sources. Allen has been rehabbing from past treatments, but ‘not enough time between now and Abu Dhabi to be ready to fight.’”

See the full post below:

UFC 333 is scheduled for October 24 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The headline fight will see current two-time featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski defend his belt against the unbeaten Movsar Evloev.

The co-main event features a trilogy bout between two-time UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former titleholder Merab Dvalishvili.