Volkanovski defeats Ortega by unanimous decision. In one of the best fights of the year, if not the best, Alexander Volkanovski defeats Brian Ortega by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-44).

Volkanovski might have escaped the submissions, but he was still wearing damage from Ortega blows, including two cuts on his face and one on his head. "I wanted to get the finish," Volkanovski said.

Alexander Volkanovski successfully defended his UFC featherweight championship with a unanimous-decision win over Brian Ortega in the main event of UFC 266 from Las Vegas.

Alex Volkanovski, 32, from Australia, is the reigning UFC featherweight champion. Brian Ortega, 30, from the United States, is the second-ranked contender in the UFC’s stacked 145-pound division.

Aljamain Sterling defeated Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in the UFC Shanghai co-main event ...

Heading into their co-headlining bout at UFC Fight Night 257, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling knew what Brian ...

Before settling any picks of your own for Volkanovski vs. Ortega and the rest of the UFC 266 card, make sure you see the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine MMA expert Andrew Gombas.

However, Volkanovski escaped again and exploded into full-on ground-and-pound mode while Ortega threw up triangles. The ground-and-pound kept coming, however, as did a series of warnings by Herb Dean.

But Volkanovski managed to stave off the attack before it got quite so close and again found his way on top in Ortega’s guard, landing stiff punches and posturing up for extra velocity.

There is no doubt that weight cuts remains one of the most challenging parts of a training camp for any The post MMA Fans ...

Add in two more fights with high stakes, and this stacks up to any main draw in recent memory. Now to the preview for the UFC 266 “Volkanovski vs. Ortega” main card: ...

Once recovered, Volkanovski remained in Las Vegas instead of returning home to Australia and starred opposite Los Angeles native Ortega in the latest season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Big change.