Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC 266, we will see a showdown for the featherweight championship. The undisputed UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski (22-1) is back to defend his title against “T-City” Brian Ortega (15-1, 1 NC).
This fight comes on the heels of the two men coaching opposite each other on this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Originally, they were supposed to fight in March, however, the fight got pushed back after the champion came down with covid.
Alexander Volkanovski lost his fourth professional fight which occurred in 2013. He hasn’t lost since. The champion is a perfect 9-0 in the UFC which includes two victories over Max Holloway. Volkanovski is hoping to add Ortega next to his hit list.
That said, Brian Ortega is not going to be an easy challenge to overcome. T-City looks like a completely different fighter than he was a few of years ago when he got his first crack at the UFC title against Max Holloway.
After nearly a two year layoff due to injuries, Ortega returned last October and outclassed Chan Sung Jung. In that fight he showed tremendous improvement in his striking. He believes he’s now ready to become the UFC featherweight champion.
UFC 266 Prediction
I’m expecting Brian Ortega to start out really strong at UFC 266. To be completely honest with you, I think he’s going to take the champion by surprise throughout the first two rounds on the feet.
Perhaps, maybe even Ortega hurts the champion here or there. However, I think Volkanovski is going to press through it. On pure activity, I really like Volkanovski the longer the fight goes.
The champion has shown the ability to make adjustments on the fly and adapt to whatever his opponent is doing. He did that in his last fight with Max Holloway and I think he’ll do it again tomorrow night.
We are in for a tremendous main event, but I truly believe that the UFC title is going to stay with New Zealand’s City Kickboxing tomorrow night. It’ll be close, but Volkanovski will retain.
Prediction: Alexander Volkanovski by Split Decision