Dana White says UFC 333 stays in Abu Dhabi after Houthi strikes on Riyadh

UFC president Dana White says UFC 333 will go ahead in Abu Dhabi, with no plan to move it. He was asked about the missile attacks in the region at the press conference after Tuesday's Contender Series Season 10 finale in Las Vegas. The card is set for Saturday, October 24, at Etihad Arena.

"Nope. We're going," White said when asked about a contingency plan, according to MMA Sucka and MiddleEasy. Both cite the same video. Asked about contact with the Abu Dhabi authorities, he said, "We go." He added that Power Slap and WWE are going there too, MMA Sucka reported.

Power Slap has a show at Space42 Arena on Friday, October 23, the night before UFC 333, according to Gulf News. As of Thursday, we have found no security statement from the UFC or its Abu Dhabi partner, the Department of Culture and Tourism. The date and venue have not changed.

What prompted the question

The attacks behind the question hit Saudi Arabia, not the UAE. Houthi strikes hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Thursday, October 8, killing three people including a Saudia pilot, The National reported. A Houthi missile struck the airport again on October 10. That strike killed at least 13 and wounded more than 300, Al Jazeera reported, and more attacks followed on October 11 and 12.

The National has reported further strikes through the week and a postponed EU-GCC summit. None of the coverage we read reports a strike on the UAE this month. The last UAE missile alert we found was on August 18, when the UAE said two ballistic missiles fired from Iran came down at sea, according to Euronews.

The UFC has kept to its Middle East plans before. In March, weeks into the Iran war, White was asked whether anything had changed, Yahoo Sports reported. "No," he said. "As of right now, no." The promotion then ran Ankalaev vs. Guskov at Etihad Arena on July 25.

Two title fights on the card

Alexander Volkanovski (28-4) defends the featherweight title against unbeaten Movsar Evloev (20-0). The champion has beaten Diego Lopes twice since his losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. Evloev has won all ten of his UFC fights on the scorecards, most recently over Lerone Murphy in March. The market has it at 50% each, per our fight page.

The co-main event is the trilogy between bantamweight champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili won the first fight on points in March 2023. Yan won the title back by five-round decision at UFC 323 last December. He closed at +320, about 23%, and Dvalishvili at −417, per Yan's and Dvalishvili's pages.

Now Yan is the favourite, at 62%, per our odds. Dvalishvili has since said he "didn't take rest" before that fight and was burned out by a hard camp, The National reported in September.

We think the card stays put. The October strikes have hit Saudi Arabia, not the UAE, and the UFC ran a card in the same arena in July. Travel around the region is the practical issue. Riyadh's airport was closed after the attacks, and Etihad has cancelled its Abu Dhabi–Riyadh flights until October 19, according to Gulf News. We have seen no reports of disruption to flights into Abu Dhabi.