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UFC 266 packs tons of star energy heading into Saturday’s primary card on the T-Cell Area in Las Vegas.
Alexander Volkanovsk places his UFC Featherweight championship on the road in opposition to Brian Ortega. There is no love misplaced between the 2 who coached reverse of one another on The Final Fighter and had been speculated to conflict within the octagon at UFC 260 again in March till Volkanovski examined constructive for COVID-19.
Volkanovski hasn’t fought since defending his title in opposition to Max Holloway in July 2020, successful in a controversial cut up resolution. Volkanovski brings an ideal 9-0 report within the UFC into Saturday’s battle with Ortega.
MORE: Sign up to watch the UFC 266 PPV, exclusively on ESPN+
Ortega made a profitable return to the Octagon final October with a dominant victory over Chan Sung Jung after taking almost two years off following his loss to Holloway.
Saturday’s primary card additionally options the return of Nick Diaz. The 38-year-old hasn’t stepped contained in the octagon in over six years when he misplaced to Anderson Silva in the principle occasion of UFC 183. Though he is solely fought 3 times up to now decade and hasn’t received any of these fights, Diaz’s return to the UFC on the age of 38 has bought loads of followers excited on account of his cult hero-like standing.
UFC 266 stay updates, highlights from Volkanovski vs. Ortega
Valentina Shevchenko obliterates Lauren Murphy with fourth spherical TKO
Spherical 4 (12:15 a.m.): Shevchenko lands a proper hand and Murphy is like “nah, I don’t need to be right here.” Shevchenko slips and the gang will get excited due to the extreme lack of drama on this battle. Shevchenko lands a proper hand and a kick. Murphy stumbles and Shevchenko pounces. She’s obliterating her. They go to the bottom and Murphy is hanging on for expensive life. Shevchenko is blasting Murphy with floor and pound till the ref saves Murphy’s life. It’s over.
Spherical 3 (12:09 a.m.): It is a sparring session. Shevchenko lands an overhand left and is ready for Murphy to do one thing however her opponent isn’t serious about taking possibilities. There aren’t any solutions for Shevchenko. She’s simply choosing her aside and making Murphy look remedial. Whole domination from Shevchenko. 10-9 Shevchenko (30-27 Shevchenko)
Spherical 2 (12:03 a.m.): Shevchenko is unable to get a takedown however lands a mixture. Murphy has completed nothing of consequence but. She’s simply sort of there. Counter proper hand lights Murphy up. Physique kick by Shevchenko and a takedown. In the event you’re Murphy possibly you simply shut your eyes and hope it doesn’t damage. Murphy hanging on for expensive life and Shevchenko tries to get her leg out from half guard. One fighter is attempting to kill and the opposite is attempting to outlive. 10-9 Shevchenko (20-18 Shevchenko)
Spherical 1 (11:57 p.m.): Valentina lands an overhand proper as Murphy rushes in. Physique kick by Shevchenko. Murphy seems to be overwhelmed and scared to get hit. Murphy catches a leg kick however eats a proper hand for her bother. Shevchenko’s pace is an excessive amount of. Shevchenko chops her with a leg kick. Lands a mixture. It’s already all unhealthy. Spinning backfist by Shevchenko lands. Murphy eats a counter proper hand and is taken down. Straightforward first spherical for Shevchenko. 10-9
Robbie Lawler makes Nick Diaz say “No Mas” with third spherical stoppage
Spherical 3 (11:34 p.m.): Diaz opens up and goes proper to Lawler’s physique. Left hand drops Diaz and Lawler tells him to rise up. Diaz says “naw” and quits. Combat is over.
Spherical 2 (11:28 p.m.): Diaz with a head kick and a mixture to begin the spherical. Lawler bulls ahead and lands a mixture and a brief knee. Diaz with three uppercuts. Diaz simply continues to choose off Lawler each time he closes the space. It is a unusual battle. However it’s enjoyable. Lawler can’t discover a gap and Diaz received’t cease punching. Diaz with a tough physique shot however Lawler retains strolling him down. He has to land one thing although to make a distinction. Lawler lands a mixture. Diaz has slowed down some extra. Lawler is touchdown with extra frequency towards the top of the spherical and Diaz can’t discover the mark. Lawler hurts him with a physique shot and lands 5 punches in a row to shut the spherical. 10-9 Lawler (19-19)
Spherical 1 (11:22 p.m.): Robbie Lawler is swarming Diaz from the opening bell. Diaz seems to be sluggish and Robbie is crisp. Diaz is speaking to Lawler and lands a physique kick. Physique punch. They trade on the within and Diaz lands a protracted proper hand. Arms are being thrown. Diaz with a mixture. Lawler with a head kick and Diaz responds with a mixture. Lawler presses ahead and Diaz simply unloads a mixture. The whole lot seems to be sluggish from Diaz but it surely’s working. Lawler launches bombs and Diaz responds. Lawler with a mixture and it is a battle. 10-9…Diaz?
Curtis Blaydes makes use of takedowns to upend Jairzinho Rozenstruik
11:02 p.m.: It wasn’t enjoyable however Blaydes and his wrestling (predictably) bought him the victory. Unusual that every one three judges scored it 30-27 when it regarded like Jairzinho Rozenstruik earned no less than one spherical. Nonetheless, Blaydes is again within the win column and can look to get a high heavyweight the following trip.
10:54 p.m.: The second spherical finds Blaydes somewhat extra cautious and a left hand from Rozenstruik almost took him out of the sport. In some way, he additionally survived a flying knee and secured a takedown. However Rozenstruik did sufficient to squeeze out the spherical and let Blaydes know to not attempt any humorous enterprise.
10:47 p.m.: As anticipated, Blaydes took Rozenstruik down. He did not do a lot with it but it surely was sufficient to manage the preliminary body. Rozenstruik merely can not look forward to Blaydes and should throw warning to the wind sooner or later.
Jéssica Andrade pulverizes Cynthia Calvillo for first spherical stoppage
10:26 p.m.: Jessica Andrade was simply too robust for Cynthia Calvillo and easily stalked her prey, blasted her with energy photographs and wore her down. Calvillo did not have the facility to land a shot to get Andrade off of her and when the spherical was about to finish, Andrade cranked up the strain, trapped Calvillo and have become the primary individual to cease her with a barrage of strikes proper earlier than the spherical ended. Brutal.
9:51 p.m.: After an totally ridiculous first spherical, Merab Dvalishvili completes the comeback by smashing Moraes into smithereens within the second spherical. He opened the appropriate with a proper hand and took Moraes down. For the following 4 minutes he smashed him with each limb he might legally use till referee Keith Peterson cease the battle with 35 seconds left. A completely surreal comeback.
9:45 p.m.: Probably the most insane first rounds of the 12 months. Moraes clobbered Dvalishvili and had him useless to rights with a vicious hanging assault. In some way, Dvalishvili survived, collected himself, took Moraes down and closed the spherical pummeling Moraes. Completely insane.
9:34 p.m.: To shut out the prelims earlier than the pay per view begins, Marlon Moraes will look to snap a two-fight dropping streak in opposition to Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili is driving a six-fight successful streak however Moraes is, by far, his hardest problem.
9:30 p.m.: Dan Hooker was the fan-favorite tonight and left the followers happy with a unanimous resolution victory. A bounce again for him following a heartbreaking knockout loss to Michael Chandler. The win was dominant and Hooker continues to be a serious participant within the light-weight division.
9:02 p.m.: We’re right here cageside for UFC 266 simply as Dan Hooker and Nasrat Haqparast are making their walks to the cage below distinctive circumstances. Each had issues moving into america on account of COVID safety measures and never solely ended up attending to Las Vegas, however made weight. It doesn’t matter what occurs tonight, they’re each winners in my e book.
Volkanovski vs. Ortega begin time
- Date: Saturday, Sept. 25
- Begin time: 6 p.m. ET | 3 p.m. PT
- Foremost card (PPV): 10 p.m. ET | 7 p.m. PT
- Foremost occasion: 12:15 a.m. ET | 9:15 p.m. PT (approximate)
UFC 266: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega takes place on September 25 with the early prelims kicking the occasion off at 6 p.m. ET, earlier than the pay-per-view primary card begins at 10 p.m. ET. Volkanovski and Ortega ought to enter the Octagon round 12:15 a.m. ET, relying on the size of the undercard bouts.
watch UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega
- TV channels/stay stream: ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+
The primary card for UFC 266 is obtainable within the U.S. on the ESPN+ subscription streaming service for a pay-per-view value. That portion of the occasion begins at 10 p.m. ET.
Earlier fights are viewable stay on ESPN, the WatchESPN app and, for the early prelims, UFC Combat Go.
In Canada, the main-card pay-per-view is obtainable on Bell, Rogers, Shaw, SaskTel, Videotron, Telus, Eastlink and UFC PPV on UFC Combat Go.
UFC 266 battle card
Foremost Card
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega for Volkanovski’s UFC Featherweight championship
- Valentina Shevchenko def. Lauren Murphy by way of 4th spherical TKO (punches) (4:00)
- Robbie Lawler def. Nick Diaz by way of third spherical TKO (punch) (:44)
- Curtis Blaydes def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik by way of unanimous resolution (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27)
- Jéssica Andrade def. Cynthia Calvillo by way of 1st spherical TKO (punches) (4:54)
Preliminary card
- Merab Dvalishvili def. Marlon Moraes by way of 2nd spherical TKO (punches) (4:25)
- Dan Hooker def. Nasrat Haqparast by way of unanimous resolution (30-27, 30-27 & 30-26)
- Chris Daukaus def. Shamil Abdurakhimov by way of 2nd spherical TKO (punches and elbows) (1:23)
- Taila Santos def. Roxanne Modafferi by way of unanimous resolution (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27)
Combat Go Prelims
- Jalin Turner def. Uros Medić by way of 1st spherical submission (rear bare choke) (4:01)
- Nick Maximov def. Cody Brundage by way of unanimous resolution (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28)
- Matthew Semelsberger def. Martin Sano Jr. by way of 1st spherical KO (punch) (:15)
- Jonathan Pearce def. Omar Morales by way of 2nd spherical submission (rear bare choke) (3:31)
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