The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 266: “Volkanovski vs Ortega.” The event featured a UFC Featherweight Championship grudge match between reigning champ Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski and challenger Brian “T-City” Ortega.
In the co-main event, UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko defended her title against “Lucky” Lauren Murphy. Elsewhere on the main card, Nick Diaz returned to face “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler in a middleweight rematch. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 266.
UFC Featherweight Championship
Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski vs Brian “T-City” Ortega
Round 1:
Volkanovski kicked from a distance in the opening minute and he sidestepped punches from Ortega as Ortega pressed forward. A right hook and a combination landed for Volkanovski, but Ortega landed a right hand in return. Volkanovski opened a cut above Ortega’s left eye with another right hook. He mixed things up with a leg kick, right hook combo, but Ortega cut Volkanovski below his left eye with a jab. Volkanovski walked forward with a combination and Ortega stopped his momentum with a counter left that froze Volkanovski in place momentarily. The close round ended with both men landing punches. 10-9 Volkanovski.
Round 2:
Ortega countered a Volkanovski body kick with a quick combination to begin the second round. He spun Volkanovski around with two leg kicks and Volkanovski aggressively responded with jabs after closing the distance. Both men landed right hooks and Volkanovski scored with two leg kicks before backing up to avoid a head kick from Ortega. A big one-two and an overhand right landed for Volkanovski, but Ortega held strong and fired back with a chopping leg kick. A punching flurry from Volkanovski was answered by one from Ortega, who finished with a leg kick. Volkanovski landed an overhand right and blocked a head kick, and the fighters exchanged words after the bell. 10-9 Volkanovski.
Round 3:
Volkanovski landed a series of kicks to Ortega’s lead leg in round three and Ortega was wobbled by an accidental clash of heads. He recovered quite quickly, but blood began to pour from his nose and his face swelled up. Another combination landed for Volkanovski, followed by a right hook, but Ortega cracked him with a counter left that knocked Volkanovski down. Ortega immediately locked on a mounted guillotine choke that had Volkanovski in some trouble. Volkanovski escaped and wound up on top, where he bloodied Ortega even more with punches and elbows. Ortega trapped him in a tight triangle choke from the bottom and Volkanovski again refused to submit. He got free and battered Ortega with huge punches from the top all the way until the bell, which Ortega barely made it to. 10-9 Volkanovski due to the late rally.
Round 4:
Early in the fourth round, Volkanovski picked his shots with single punches and leg kicks from a distance. Ortega eventually clinched and scored a trip takedown that allowed him to trap Volkanovski in a loose Brabo choke. Volkanovski escaped and took top position, where he went to work with elbows to Ortega’s face. Ortega regained full guard and Volkanovski dropped punches and another elbow to his face. He stood over Ortega and landed big punches that nearly finished the fight. Ortega rolled to try to stifle Volkanovski’s offence, but Volkanovski punished him with more punches from the top. The fighters stood in the final seconds and Volkanovski landed a hard jab. 10-8 Volkanovski.
Round 5:
Volkanovski jabbed and easily shrugged off an Ortega takedown attempt in the final round. A combination of punches and an elbow landed for Volkanovski, but Ortega stayed in the fight and responded with a jab-cross combo. Volkanovski finished a combination with a leg kick, but Ortega caught a body kick and briefly backed him up with punches. Volkanovski landed a three-punch flurry and Ortega fired back with a nice one-two. Volkanovski used his jab to set up right hands and he caught a body kick from Ortega. The fight ended with Ortega landing his best punches in the final 15 seconds. Another close round. 10-9 Ortega.
Winner: Alexander Volkanovski by Unanimous Decision (50-44, 50-45, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 23-1-0 and remains the UFC Featherweight Champion.
UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship
Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko vs “Lucky” Lauren Murphy
Round 1:
Shevchenko opened the action with a body kick and just missed with a left cross. Murphy caught a kick, but Shevchenko balanced on one leg and punched her way free. A step-in left hand scored for Shevchenko and she followed with another one soon after. She finished a combination with a kick to Murphy’s lead leg. Murphy’s left eye began to swell shut and Shevchenko targeted it with a lead right hook. A spinning back elbow scored for Shevchenko, who followed with a body kick and a takedown into Murphy’s half-guard. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Round 2:
The fighters clinched early in the second round and Murphy fought off a takedown attempt. She held Shevchenko against the cage momentarily, but Shevchenko quickly worked her way free and she countered a body kick with two quick punches. Murphy attempted a Superman Punch and Shevchenko landed a lead right hook. She followed with a spinning back kick to the body and then took Murphy down. Shevchenko maintained top position throughout the final two minutes and landed some solid elbows just before the bell. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Round 3:
Shevchenko followed up on a one-two with a spinning hook kick attempt in the third round that just missed. She continued to find success with step-in one-twos and finished her combinations with leg kicks. A head kick from Shevchenko grazed Murphy’s face and kept her backing up. Shevchenko closed the distance late in the round and clinched. She took Murphy’s back and maintained back control until the end of the round. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Round 4:
Shevchenko attacked Murphy’s body with kicks in round four and she finished another two-punch combo with a leg kick. Seconds later, Shevchenko landed a front kick to Murphy’s face. A right hook wobbled Murphy and Shevchenko landed a flush head kick followed by two punches that staggered Murphy against the cage. Shevchenko landed more punches and Murphy fell to the mat. Shevchenko opted to drop down into Murphy’s half-guard and Murphy began to recover as she tied her up from the bottom. Shevchenko eventually postured up with a series of hard elbows and punches, and that was enough to finish the fight.
Winner: Valentina Shevchenko by TKO (Elbows & Punches) at 4:00 of round four. She improves to 23-3-0 and remains the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion.
“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs Nick Diaz
Round 1:
Lawler landed a knee right away and Diaz covered up as Lawler attacked with punches to his head and body. Diaz landed a counter right hook and he followed with a left to the body. Both men landed overhand lefts and Diaz briefly backed Lawler up with a one-two. Lawler attacked the body with two punches, but Diaz scored with another combination. Lawler scored with a left hook, but Diaz shrugged it off and continued to picks his shots with combinations to the head and body. Lawler landed a right hook to the body and Diaz responded with ten quick punches. More punches were exchanged and Diaz landed to the body and head with one-twos. Lawler rallied late in the round with two flurries including a right hook to the jaw. Close, back-and-forth round. 10-9 Diaz.
Round 2:
The second round began with Lawler attacking with a combination to the body and head. He followed with a liver kick and Diaz backed up while recovering. He threw hooks and uppercuts as Lawler closed in. Lawler landed an overhand left and Diaz threw more rapid-fire punches. Lawler had his best success with left hooks to Diaz’s face and liver. Diaz’s output slowed down in the second half of the round and Lawler began to take advantage with quick combinations of his own. He repeatedly scored with jabs and forced Diaz to retreat by cracking him with two hooks to the jaw in the final seconds. 10-9 Lawler.
Round 3:
Diaz landed a combination early in the third round, but Lawler clipped him with a right hook and dropped him to a knee with a left uppercut. Lawler backed away and beckoned for Diaz to get back to his feet. Diaz’s nose appeared to have been broken by the left hand and he did not stand up when instructed by referee Jason Herzog, so the fight was waved off.
Winner: Robbie Lawler by TKO (Retirement) at 0:44 of round three. He improves to 29-15-0, 1 NC.
Curtis “Razor” Blaydes vs Jairzinho “Bigi Boy” Rozenstruik
Round 1:
Left hooks were exchanged right away and Rozenstruik countered a level change from Blaydes with two uppercuts. Blaydes closed the distance once more and took Rozenstruik down into side control. He threw knees and punches to Rozenstruik’s body, then switched to head punches when Rozenstruik got to a knee and tried to stand up. Blaydes landed more short right hands, but Rozenstruik got to his feet and circled away. The pace slowed way down and nothing significant landed until Rozenstruik caught a leg kick and countered with a right hand. Blaydes switched stances and landed a lead right hook, and both men connected with right hands late in the round. 10-9 Blaydes.
Round 2:
The crowd grew restless with a lack of action in the second round and little transpired until Blaydes landed two leg kicks two minutes in. He switched stances again and landed a straight left. Another lull in the action followed and Blaydes took Rozenstruik down with 90 seconds remaining after eating a flying knee from Rozenstruik. Blaydes peppered Rozenstruik with short left hands from the top in Rozenstruik’s half-guard. 10-9 Blaydes.
Round 3:
More than a minute into the final round, Blaydes landed the first significant strike with a lead left hook. He took Rozenstruik down and stayed busy enough from Rozenstruik’s half-guard with left hands and elbows. He remained there all the way until the final bell sounded to end the lacklustre fight. 10-9 Blaydes.
Winner: Curtis Blaydes by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 15-3-0, 1 NC.
Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade vs Cynthia Calvillo
Round 1:
Andrade struck first with a leg kick and Calvillo circled from side to side. She landed a right hook, but Andrade stunned her with a counter right-left combo. Another hard leg kick landed for Andrade and she countered jabs from Calvillo with more one-two combinations. A leg kick a a series of left hooks landed for Andrade as Calvillo backed up. Calvillo landed a side kick to the body in the final minute and Andrade charged forward with left hooks. She switched to rights and then backed a wounded Calvillo up to the cage with a barrage of hooks. Calvillo covered up and Andrade landed right hand after right hand until the bout was stopped.
Winner: Jéssica Andrade by TKO (Punches) at 4:54 of round one. She improves to 22-9-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)