MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC 266, a five-round UFC featherweight title bout between champion Alexander Volkanovski and challenge Brian Ortega. The event takes place on Saturday, September 25 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Alexander Volkanovski (-175)
Volkanovski (22-1) is the UFC featherweight champion. The 32-year-old Australian has been in the UFC since 2016 and he has gone a perfect 9-0 during his time in the Octagon, with notable wins over the likes of Max Holloway (twice), Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, and Darren Elkins. Currently riding a 19-fight win streak in his MMA career, Volkanovski has not lost since a welterweight fight back in 2013. Since then, he has dropped down to 145lbs and become the champion of the world in his weight class. Volkanovski is a physically stronger fighter who has good grappling skills, solid striking, and really good cardio. He’s dangerous anywhere the fight goes and hasn’t shown many holes in his game aside from his striking defense in his last fight, which was exposed by Holloway. However, Volkanovski still did enough to get the win from the judges, and now he will be looking to get past Ortega and prove that he is still the best featherweight that the sport has to offer right now.
Brian Ortega (+155)
Ortega (15-1, 1 NC) is the No. 2 ranked featherweight in the UFC. The 30-year-old American has been in the UFC since 2014 and he has a 7-1, 1 NC record during that time with notable wins over The Korean Zombie, Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, Renato Moicano, and Clay Guida, with his lone loss coming to Max Holloway. A grappler by trade, Ortega is a slick submission artist who has won seven fights in his career by tapout. However, he has really improved his striking skills in the last few years, and we saw the evolution in his game in full force when he fought and beat The Korean Zombie in a standup battle. That fight opened up my eyes and it showed that Ortega is not just a one-dimensional grappler anymore. After losing to Holloway, it’s clear that Ortega put the work in to get better and it showed against The Korean Zombie. If the same version of Ortega shows up against Volkanovski that did against The Korean Zombie, then Ortega is a live dog in this fight.
Fight Breakdown: I think this is going to be a super-competitive fight for the UFC featherweight title. Volkanovski has looked amazing as of late, but Ortega showed so much evolution in his game against The Korean Zombie that I actually think he can pull off the upset here. I think that Ortega has closed the gap enough on the feet with Volkanovski that he can hang with him, and then on the mat, there is no question Ortega is more dangerous with his submission skills. Although Volkanovski is a great champion, I think his reign ends this Saturday. Look for Ortega to put together a complete mixed martial arts game as he bests Volkanovski and wins the UFC featherweight championship.
Prediction: Brian Ortega
