by Darren Moore
Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski (22-1-0) takes on Brian “T-City” Ortega (15-1-0) in a UFC Featherweight title fight at UFC266 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
This fight had originally been scheduled to take place at UFC 260 in March, but Volkanovski contracted COVID-19 and the fight was postponed. The 32-year-old Australian will be looking to make a second successful defense of his title.
View: All UFC Odds
Volkanovski vs Ortega Betting Preview
- Date: Saturday, September 25
- Main card: 7:00 p.m. PT / 10:00 p.m. ET / 3:00 a.m. BST
- Main event (approx): 10:00 p.m. PT / 1:00 a.m. ET / 6:00 a.m. BST
Volkanovski v Ortega Odds
The online sportsbook Bovada makes the defending champion Volkanovski the marginal favorite in the Fight Result betting odds at -175, with Ortega rated the +145 underdog. Volkanovski is the champion for a reason and he could just have the edge in this bout.
Featherweight – Main Event
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Alexander Volkanovski | Name | Brian Ortega |
| 22-1-0 | Record | 15-1-0 |
| 5′ 6″ | Height | 5′ 8″ |
| 144 lbs | Weight | 144 lbs |
| 71″ | Reach | 69″ |
| Orthodox | Stance | Switch |
| 6.02 | Sig Strk LPM | 4.29 |
| 57.99 | Sig Strk Acc | 39.22 |
| 2.09 | TD AVG | 0.80 |
| 34.55 | TD ACC | 21.43 |
| 0.33 | Sub Avg | 1.06 |
Alexander Volkanovski
Volkanovski claimed the featherweight belt when he beat Max Holloway at UFC 245 on a unanimous decision in December 2019, then managed to retain it against the same opponent on a split decision at UFC 251 in July 2020. That decision from the judges was certainly controversial and many disagreed with it.
Of his 22 career wins to date, Volkanovski has recorded 11 by KO and three by submission. Four of his last five fights have gone the distance.
Volkanovski is a high-volume puncher who lands 6.02 significant strikes per minute, while absorbing just 3.31. His striking accuracy is 55%.
Brian Ortega
The 30-year-old American from San Pedro, California has fought for the featherweight title once previously himself, but it proved to be unsuccessful as the doctor stopped the fight against Max Holloway in what is the only defeat of Ortega’s MMA career to date.
He returned to the Octagon in October 2020, when he looked very impressive in beating the Korean Zombie, landing 127 significant strikes to Zombie’s 62. Ortega also had two knockdowns in the fight.
Ortega’s 15 wins to date has featured three by knockout and seven by submission.
Ortega does have a good record of absorbing hits, taking 6.28 significant strikes per minute, while only landing 4.29. His striking accuracy is also considerably lower than the Australian’s at 38%.
Curtis Blaydes vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik Preview
On the same card, Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (14-3-0) meets Jairzinho “Bigi Boy” Rozenstruik (11-2-0) in a heavyweight bout over three rounds.
The 30-year-old Blaydes has recorded 10 KOs in his 14 wins to date, while the 33-year-old Rozenstruik from Suriname has 10 knockouts from his 11 wins.
Blaydes vs Rozenstruik Odds
Blaydes is a fairly warm favorite with offshore sportsbook Bovada at odds of –325 in the Fight Result betting, while backers of Rozenstruik can get their man at +250.
Heavyweight Contest
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Curtis Blaydes | Name | Jairzinho Rozenstruik |
| 14-3-0 | Record | 12-2-0 |
| 6′ 4″ | Height | 6′ 2″ |
| 261 lbs | Weight | 257 lbs |
| 80″ | Reach | 78″ |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
| 3.59 | Sig Strk LPM | 3.15 |
| 62.67 | Sig Strk Acc | 52.57 |
| 6.64 | TD AVG | 0.00 |
| 54.13 | TD ACC | 0.00 |
| 0.00 | Sub Avg |
Blaydes is coming into this bout on the back of a defeat, having lost to Derrick Lewis at UFC Vegas 19 in February this year to a 2nd round KO. Rozenstruik’s last fight saw him defeat Augusto Sakai via a 1st round knockout at UFC Vegas 28 in June 2021.
The winner of his bout will raise their profile in the heavyweight rankings and mark them as a future title contender. Blaydes looks the likeliest to come out on top on this occasion.
* UFC 266 odds correct at the time of writing. All betting odds from UFC bookmakers are subject to changes.
Darren lives & breathes sports betting and is always sniffing out his next value bet. His favourite sports to bet on are the NFL, horse racing and UFC but he will bet on anything if he thinks the odds are favourable.
