UFC 266 is set to take place on the 26th of September with the main event featuring a fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega for the UFC featherweight title.
Both fighters were supposed to take each other on in March, but Volkanovski had to pull out of the fight after contracting COVID 19.
View this post on Instagram
At this moment, there is literally no one in the featherweight division who looks like they could take down Alexander “The Great” Volkanvoski (22-1-0) as he currently finds himself riding a 10-fight win streak. Volkanovski won the featherweight title from Max Holloway back in December 2019 on unanimous decision and successfully defended it when he took a controversial split decision victory in their rematch,
As for Brian “T-City” Ortega (15-1-0), he currently is #2 in the featherweight division. The 30-year-old mixed martial artist went missing from the sport after losing a title match against Holloway in December 2018 but he made his return last October to pick up an impressive unanimous decision win over Chan Sung Jung which booked his ticket for a title fight at UFC 266.
PREDICTION: ORTEGA TO WIN VIA DECISION
View this post on Instagram
Both the fighters have proved in the past that they are capable enough to take the fight to the judges. This time out, our prediction is Ortega to win the fight via judges’ scores. Since returning from that lost title opportunity against Holloway we have seen Ortega’s striking get better. In his return to the octagon in October, T-City landed a total of 127 significant strokes compared to the Korean Zombie’s 62, literally double the number to add to that fight, Ortega also scored a couple of knockdowns in that fight as well. There’s no denying in his submission skills as well, most notably the guillotine choke that puts his opponents to sleep.
But one can’t just rule out Volkanovski from winning the fight as we all know that he is an adaptive fighter who adapts to the opponents fighting style and that he can win in more than one way.
UFC 266 FULL CARD:
Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Brian Ortega, Featherweight Championship
Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Lauren Murphy, Women’s Flyweight Championship
Robbie Lawler vs. Nick Diaz, Welterweight Bout
Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Heavyweight Bout
Jessica Andrade vs. Cynthia Calvillo, Women’s Flyweight Bout
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Marlon Moraes, Bantamweight Bout
Dan Hooker VS Nasrat Haqparsat, Lightweight Bout
Chris Daukaus VS Shamil Abdurakimov, Heavyweight Bout
Manon Fiorot VS Marya Bueno Silva, Women’s Flyweight Bout
Talia Santos VS Roxanne Modafferi, Women’s Flyweight Bout
Jalin Turner VS Utos Medic, Lightweight Bout
[Image Credit: UFC Brasil]
Shashank Iyer