Tag: UFC 266

UFC 266 Bonuses: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega Earns Fight Of The Night

The UFC 266 bonuses have been released. The pay-per-view event took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena. Headlining the card was a featherweight title clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. This fight saw an incredible third round. Volkanovski was in control of the first two rounds. Ortega dropped him in the […]

Continue Reading UFC 266 Bonuses: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega Earns Fight Of The Night at MMA News.

The UFC 266 bonuses have been released.

The pay-per-view event took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena. Headlining the card was a featherweight title clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. This fight saw an incredible third round. Volkanovski was in control of the first two rounds. Ortega dropped him in the third and went for a guillotine on top. Alexander got out of it only to be caught in a triangle choke and only to get out of it. Volkanovski smashed him with shots on top. Volkanovski controlled the fourth round with a scramble into top position. They exchanged in the fifth round but it was Volkanovski walking away with the decision win and retaining the featherweight title. 

The co-main event saw more action between Valentina Shevchenko and Lauren Murphy in a women’s flyweight title bout. 

This fight saw Shevchenko control the entire bout. The champion was leaps and bounds ahead of Murphy on the feet while striking. Murphy brought no challenge in this department. Shevchenko did score some takedowns throughout the fight. Murphy did try to get takedowns, but found no success. Shevchenko ended it in the fourth round via TKO. 

Nick Diaz made his long-awaited return in a middleweight fight against Robbie Lawler, but fell short despite a good outing as Lawler picked up the third-round TKO win after dropping Diaz, who refused to get up, and the referee waved off the fight. 

Peep the full list of performance bonus winners below.

Fight of the Night: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega 

Performance of the Night: Chris Daukaus and Merab Dvalishvili

UFC 266 Results: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega, Valentina Shevchenko vs. Lauren Murphy

MMA News is providing ongoing coverage of UFC 266. We’ve got you covered with live results, video highlights, and post-fight tidbits.

Were the right choices made for the UFC 266 bonuses?

Continue Reading UFC 266 Bonuses: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega Earns Fight Of The Night at MMA News.

Jake Shields: Nick Diaz Was Pressured To Take UFC 266 Bout Before He Was Ready

Nick DiazJake Shields claims that Nick Diaz wasn’t ready to take the fight with Robbie Lawler but was pressured into it. Diaz had his first fight since Jan. 2015. He went one-on-one with Lawler on the main card of UFC 266. The bout was scheduled for five rounds but it ended in the third stanza. Lawler […]

Nick Diaz

Jake Shields claims that Nick Diaz wasn’t ready to take the fight with Robbie Lawler but was pressured into it.

Diaz had his first fight since Jan. 2015. He went one-on-one with Lawler on the main card of UFC 266. The bout was scheduled for five rounds but it ended in the third stanza. Lawler scored the TKO finish.

After the fight, Shields, Diaz’s longtime training partner and friend, took to his Twitter account to say that Diaz only had six weeks to prepare.

“Nick Diaz is a f*cking legend 6 years off And six weeks to train and still makes fight of the night.”

“Wanted to do a fight later but was pressured to take it before he was ready. People care about money, not his health.”

Diaz had been adamant about not asking for the Lawler fight. He even told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that he felt he should’ve been challenging Kamaru Usman for the UFC Welterweight Title.

“I think I’ll beat the sh*t out of Usman,” Diaz said. “I’ll have a better shot against Usman than I do Lawler, just because I already beat Lawler. This doesn’t make sense for me to go in and fight Robbie Lawler again. I don’t know why I’m doing this. … This should not happen. Whoever set this up is an idiot. I don’t know why I’m doing this. I don’t know why this happened. I should be fighting Kamaru Usman – and that’s it.”

Even during his post-fight interview, Diaz said he wasn’t a fan of how his return was set up by the UFC. With that said, the Stockton native did admit that he felt good returning to the Octagon in front of his fans. Time will tell whether or not Diaz decides to keep going with his career.

7 Takeaways from UFC 266: Volkanovski vs Ortega

UFC 266 featured a featherweight main event title fight and a women’s flyweight title fight. Valentina Shevchenko reigns supreme at 125 pounds and Alexander Volkanovski proved his championship status is no fluke. There was a lot to take away from UFC 266, here are some things that stood out. Nick Diaz Returns Diaz has not […]

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UFC 266 featured a featherweight main event title fight and a women’s flyweight title fight. Valentina Shevchenko reigns supreme at 125 pounds and Alexander Volkanovski proved his championship status is no fluke.

There was a lot to take away from UFC 266, here are some things that stood out.

Nick Diaz Returns

Diaz has not fought since he faced Anderson Silva at UFC 183. For some reason, the UFC decided to put together this fight with Diaz and Robbie Lawler and even Diaz does not understand why, but he only knows that he needs to fight according to his conversation with Brett Okamoto. For the hardcore MMA fans that have been along for the ride since their first fight, no reason has to be given to watch. It’s Nick Diaz versus Robbie Lawler, that’s reason enough.

Roxy Fighter

Roxanne Modafferi lost her fight to Taila Santos and it’s rare to write about the person that lost the fight. However, one thing that went under the radar was that this was Modaferri’s 44th outing in MMA and her 11the bout in the UFC. She’s been fighting since 2003 and still gets put on cards. She deserves some recognition.

Dan Hooker and Nasrat Haqparast

These two men had fought through a lot of issues to get to UFC 266. According to Paul Fleder during the broadcast, they only arrived in Vegas the night before they had to make weight and made their contracted weight. They fought all three rounds and the decision went to Hooker, but this was one fight that was expected to win “Fight of the Night” honors. 

A Women’s Flyweight Problem

Jessica Andrade became the first woman to finish Cynthia Calvillo and she did so, the way many expected, with power. The women’s flyweight division seems to be dominated by Shevchenko, what happened in the strawweight division could happen in the women’s flyweight division where the same names keep running across each other. Andrade already fought and lost to Shevchenko, she’ll need a new game if they meet again.

“I had it comin’.” -Nick Diaz

Lawler and Diaz are now 1-1 against one another. In a fight that seemed like it was the main event on a card with two title fights booked as the main and co-main event, the fight looked to be a war for the first three rounds. But something about Diaz coming showed that time away, and time passed took its toll on the elder Diaz that started fighting when he was 18 years old. He fought great and lost, but this will likely not be a trilogy. Fires burn, then they burn hot for a while before they eventually burn out.

Luck Runs Out for Lauren Murphy

Murphy’s story in the UFC has been great, and she will likely stay atop UFC women’s flyweight contender but Shevchenko’s dominance as champion keeps making more of a case to have her and Amanda Nunes do something at catchweight because it seems, there is no one else out there for them.  At least right now.

Total War

Volkanovski took the very best of Ortega’s arsenal in their title fight and kept coming at him to score the win. If fans needed proof of the legitimacy of his status as champion, he likely gave it to them at UFC 266. He survived several submission attempts from Ortega, including his famed triangle choke which is where the “T-City” name comes from (Triangle City). Daniel Cormier said at the end in the in-cage interview both men should take a bow, and they should. 

There’s obviously more to take away from this event than what is listed here. The women’s flyweight division has seemingly been cleaned out and Volkanovski has absolutely improved his stock. The UFC seems to be closing out the year with some interesting fights, and with their return to New York City nearing, what else will they be bringing to fans in match announcements?

What did you take away from the event?

Continue Reading 7 Takeaways from UFC 266: Volkanovski vs Ortega at MMA News.

Alexander Volkanovski Defends Title In Decision Barnburner With Brian Ortega – UFC 266 Highlights

Alexander VolkanovskiUFC 266 has just produced a sure fire contender for Fight of the Year — as Alexander Volkanovski gritted through some worrying submission threats to take home a unanimous decision victory over a bloodied, bruised, and battered Brian Ortega in a unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-44) victory. Both have their respective moments in that opening […]

Alexander Volkanovski

UFC 266 has just produced a sure fire contender for Fight of the Year — as Alexander Volkanovski gritted through some worrying submission threats to take home a unanimous decision victory over a bloodied, bruised, and battered Brian Ortega in a unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-44) victory.

Both have their respective moments in that opening round, drawing blood from the region of each of their left eyes. The round spent entirely on the feet with Volkanovski pressing and leading the dance with crisp boxing, whilst Ortega counters with a stiff left from the fence, finding his range with more power it would seem.

Another round in the books for the defending champion it appears, with the second round almost mirroring the first round in regards to how both men got off with their respective offense. Ortega’s corner looking for more urgency, while Volkanovski urged to implement some more leg kicks.

In an incredible round, Volkanovski almost suffered a mounted guillotine loss after Ortega fell into his guard before mounting after a cracking counter striker dropped him. Somehow surviving, Ortega then managed to set up a triangle, which Volkanovski gutted through as well. Before the close of the round, the champion rained down with massive ground strikes, causing serious swelling to the eye and forehead of Ortega, which drew the Octagon-side physician’s attention.

Another completely dominant round from Volkanovski who continued to slice and bruise Ortega with devastating ground strikes, stacking the guard and bloodying the challenger, who looked extremely fatigued and worse for wear in his corner heading into the last frame.

Ortega looks much better in the fifth, cracking and drawing a reaction from Volkanovski at the end of the round, however, the New South Wales native, with enough water in the basement, successfully takes a decision win and defends his crown.

Catch the highlights from Volkanovski’s successful title defense against Ortega, below.

Alex Volkanovski Defeats Brian Ortega In Thriller – UFC 266 Results

Alex VolkanovskiThe main event of UFC 266 featured a featherweight title match between Alex Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. Here’s how the championship tilt unfolded inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Round 1: There wasn’t really a feeling out process in this one. Both men found a home for the jab. Volkanovski landed an overhand […]

Alex Volkanovski

The main event of UFC 266 featured a featherweight title match between Alex Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. Here’s how the championship tilt unfolded inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Round 1: There wasn’t really a feeling out process in this one. Both men found a home for the jab. Volkanovski landed an overhand right. Volkanovski caught a kick but couldn’t capitalize. Ortega had Volkanovski off balance with a straight right hand. Cuts formed over the left eye of both fighters.

Round 2: Ortega found a home for the jab but Volkanovski wasn’t fazed. He connected with some stiff right hands. Volkanovski scored with an elbow, which to this point was his most effective strike. Ortega landed some more leg kicks. The two exchanged words after the horn sounded.

Round 3: Ortega suffered a busted nose due to an accidental clash of heads. Volkanovski was having great success in the standup but he soon found himself off balance off a punch and fell into Ortega’s guillotine. The champion got out of it. Ortega then locked up a triangle choke but Volkanovski escaped that attempt as well. The round ended with the champion laying down some ground-and-pound.

Round 4: Ortega was able to score a takedown and went for another choke. Volkanovski once again avoided danger and ended up in top control. He went to town with ground-and-pound, including some hard elbows.

Round 5: Volkanovski landed a solid elbow in the early going. Ortega still showed great heart, moving forward despite being battered. They exchanged leg kicks. A right hand landed for Ortega and Volkanovski fired off with punches of his own as the final horn sounded.

The score totals were read and all three judges scored the fight for Volkanovski.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Alex Volkanovski def. Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-44)

Valentina Shevchenko Retains Title With One-Sided Stoppage Of Lauren Murphy – UFC 266 Highlights

Valentina ShevchenkoThe long road to the UFC flyweight title continues to go through Kyrgyzstan, as Valentina Shevchenko smashes her way to a record-tying sixth successful title defense in the form of a fourth round ground strikes knockout win over challenger, Lauren Murphy. In patented, poised, and calculated fashion, Shevchenko countered Murphy on cue in the opening […]

Valentina Shevchenko

The long road to the UFC flyweight title continues to go through Kyrgyzstan, as Valentina Shevchenko smashes her way to a record-tying sixth successful title defense in the form of a fourth round ground strikes knockout win over challenger, Lauren Murphy.

In patented, poised, and calculated fashion, Shevchenko countered Murphy on cue in the opening round as well finding a comfortable home for body kicks when Murphy allowed her time to set up. Finding a takedown before the end of the first frame, the defending champion entered the second round in high spirits.

With more of the same for the second and third round, Murphy appeared to be running out of whatever ideas accompanied her to the Octagon in quick fashion as Shevchenko continued to prove dominant against the Alaska native.

Ultimately the beginning of the end for Murphy; a right hook counter from Shevchenko which caused a wobble as well as a subsequent left high-kick.

Taking the challenger to the canvas at the fence soon thereafter, the champion eventually sliced through to a postured position where she elbowed and sliced her way to a record-tying sixth successive successful title silencing.

Below, catch Shevchenko’s successful title defense, knockout win over Murphy.