Paul Felder to take Joe Rogan’s place cageside at UFC 333
Joe Rogan is stepping aside from commentary duties for UFC 333 on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, leaving retired lightweight contender Paul Felder to take his place cageside alongside Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, according to reports.
Broadcast Lineup Changes for International Cards
Felder has previously filled the role in Abu Dhabi, including stints at UFC 294 in 2023 and UFC 308 in 2024. Open Scoring Sports noted via Bloody Elbow that Rogan is skipping the Abu Dhabi card entirely and is not traveling for any international UFC events going forward, establishing a permanent rotation for overseas broadcasts.
Beyond the three-man booth featuring Anik, Cormier, and Felder, the rest of the broadcast delegation includes Brendan Fitzgerald hosting the desk. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and Din Thomas will work as analysts during the event and on the post-fight show, according to MMA Junkie. John Gooden handles backstage interviews, while Bruce Buffer introduces the fighters and reads the official results.
Volkanovski Defends Featherweight Belt at UFC 333
The main card for UFC 333 begins at 2 p.m. ET, following prelims at 10 a.m. ET or noon ET depending on the early preliminary schedule. In the United States, the entire card streams on Paramount+. At the top of the event, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski defends his belt against Movsar Evloev. The third fight in their series sees bantamweight titleholder Petr Yan square off against former champion Merab Dvalishvili as the co-main event.
Also included on the main card are a heavyweight battle featuring Alexander Volkov and Rizvan Kuniev, a 125-pound clash between Lone’er Kavanagh and Ramazan Temirov, and a 145-pound showdown matching Aaron Pico against Losene Keita. Felder enters the commentary assignment following a career that concluded in November 2020, when he headlined UFC Vegas 14 against Rafael dos Anjos in a Fight of the Night performance.
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