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UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega Results

By on September 26, 2021


Two title fights, and a the return of Nick Diaz took centre stage at the T-mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.

The featherweight title was up for grabs when Alexander Volkanovski defended his title against Brian Ortega in the main event. Valentina Shevchenko and Lauren Murphy battled in the co-main event for the flyweight strap. Check out all the official results and the highlight from the UFC 266 card below.

Jonathan Pearce climbed to 11-4 and picked up his second UFC win in a row when he submitted Omar Morales in the opening bout of the evening in the featherweight division.

Matt Semelsberger put himself right in contention for a bonus as he a beautiful straight right hand to knock out Martin Sano after just 0:15 seconds of the first round. The welterweight had his hand raised for the third time under the UFC banner and moves to 9-3 in his career.

Jalin Turner took the undefeated record of his opponent Uros Medic when they clashed in the lightweight division. Turner hurt his Serbian rival before taking the back and locking the the choke towards the end of round one.

https://twitter.com/UFCEurope/status/1441911850040451079?s=20

Taila Santos took out UFC veteran Roxanne Modafferi by winning a one-sided decision over the former flyweight title challenger. Santos moves to 18-1 and the Brazilian won her third straight fight in a row.

Chris Daukaus proved he is a force to be reckoned with when he knocked out Shamil Abdurakhimov in brutal fashion to move his record to 12-3. Daukaus will have eyes on the top-5 in the division after picking up his fifth straight win inside the octagon.

First of all credit to both of these athletes for making weight and making this fight happen. Nasrat Haqparast and Dan Hooker fought all the way to the judges scorecards with Hooker taking home the unanimous decision.

Merab Dvalishvili pulled off a stunning come from behind win over Marlon Moraes. After being badly hurt in round one the Georgian stormed back late on in the first before turning up the heat to get the finish in round two.

Jessica Andrade dismantled Cynthia Calvillo and finished the fight with just seconds to go in their flyweight encounter which opened up the main card. The Brazilian landed a barrage of punches on her rival which forced the ref to call a halt to the action.

Curtis Blaydes used his superior grappling to takedown Jairzinho Rozenstruik and control him throughout the fight enroute to a unanimous decision victory.

A rematch 17-years in the making went down as Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler went toe-to-toe in the middleweight division. Laler came out and set a pace from the get go and Diaz struggled to adapt but still managed to get off some nice shots to the body.After turning up the heat in round two, Lawlor went for the kill at the start of round three, “Ruthless” landed some nice body shots, big hooks to the head and Diaz wanted no more and the fight was stopped in the third round.

Valentina Shevchenko put on an absolute masterclass when she defended her flyweight crown against Lauren Murphy in the co-main event. Shevchenko was in control for the duration of the fight landing swift, sharp strikes on the feet and taking Murphy down at will. The champion stopped the fight in round four by landing a flurry of strikes on the feet and followed up with some nasty ground and pound which forced the ref to intervene.

In the main event Brian Ortega and Alex Volkanovski put on a fight for the ages. Volkanovski was able to defend his strap but not without a proper scare in round three when Ortega clipped the champ, sitting him down, and jumping on a guillotine which was millimeters away from stopping the fight. Ortega then came close with a triangle choke later in the round. Apart from that Volkanovski never really looked to too much trouble as he beat up Ortega on the feet enroute to a unanimous decision victory. That makes it 20 wins in a row for the 145-pound champion and he is fast becoming one of the greatest fighters in UFC featherweight division history.

Main Card (BT Sports / ESPN+ PPV, 10pm ET)



Featherweight: Alexander Volkanovski def. Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (49-46 x2, 50-45)

Women’s Flyweight: Valentina Shevchenko def. Lauren Murphy by TKO at 4:00 of Round 4

Middleweight:  Robbie Lawler def. Nick Diaz via TKO (punches) at 0:44 of Round 3

Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Women’s Flyweight: Jessica Andrade def. Cynthia Calvillo TKO (punches) at 4:54 Round 1


Preliminary Card (BT Sports / ESPN+, 8pm)


Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili def. Marlon Moraes via TKO (punches) at 4:25 of Round 2

Lightweight: Dan Hooker def. Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 30-26)

Heavyweight: Chris Daukaus def. Shamil Abdurakhimov via TKO (punches) at 1:23 of Round 2

Women’s Flyweight: Taila Santos def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)


Early preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass, 6pm ET)


Lightweight: Jalin Turner def. Uros Medic via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:01 of Round 1

Middleweight: Nick Maximov def. Cody Brundage via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Welterweight: Matthew Semelsberger def. Martin Sano via KO (punch) – Round 1, 0:15

Featherweight: Jonathan Pearce def. Omar Morales via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:31 of Round 2

Ian O'Neill is the host of the SevereMMA UFC Preview show and one of the co-hosts of The Auld Triangle - Irish MMA podcast. You can find more of Ian's work on the SevereMMA Patreon where he co-hosts The Chasing Pack and The Contender. Follow him on Twitter and on Instagram @ioneillmma
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