[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STVsX7_ayL8&w=640&h=360]
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay-per-view with a
duo of title fights and the return of Nick Diaz.
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 266 live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app.
UFC 266 is headlined by two title fights as featherweight
champion Alexander
Volkanovski faces Brian
Ortega and flyweight queen Valentina
Shevchenko looks to add Lauren
Murphy to her lengthy highlight reel. All fighters on the card
made weight for the event, including Dan Hooker
and Nasrat
Haqparast, who both arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Topping the card is the second title defense for Volkanovski
(22-1). The Australian is undefeated inside the Octagon and hasn’t
lost a fight since 2013. “The Great” will go up against Ortega
(15-1, 1 NC), who returned to fighting after a two-year layoff by
defeating Chan Sung
Jung via a dominant decision. The champion weighed 144.5
pounds, while “T-City” stepped on the scale at 144 pounds.
Shevchenko (21-3) is the most dominant women’s flyweight champion
ever, and she is currently riding a seven-fight win streak. “Bullet” looked great on the scales weighing 124 pounds. Looking to
cause a huge upset is the 15-4 Murphy, who has quietly put together
five straight wins over the likes of Joanne
Calderwood, Liliya
Shakirova and Roxanne
Modafferi.
UFC 266’s main card will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view on Saturday at
10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Preliminary action starts at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m.
PT on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass, while the action moves to ESPN+ and
ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
UFC 266 Weigh-in Results:
Alexander
Volkanovski (144.5) vs. Brian
Ortega (144)
Valentina
Shevchenko (124) vs. Lauren
Murphy (125)
Nick
Diaz (185.5) vs. Robbie
Lawler (184)
Curtis
Blaydes (261) vs. Jairzinho
Rozenstruik (257)
Jessica
Andrade (126) vs. Cynthia
Calvillo (126)
Marlon
Moraes (135.5) vs. Merab
Dvalishvili (135.5)
Nasrat
Haqparast (154.5) vs. Dan Hooker
(155.5)
Shamil
Abdurakhimov (258) vs. Chris
Daukaus (231)
Roxanne
Modafferi (125.5) vs. Taila
Santos (125)
Uros
Medic (156) vs. Jalin
Turner (156)
Cody
Brundage (185.5) vs. Nick
Maximov (185.5)
Martin
Sano (170) vs. Matthew
Semelsberger (170.5)
Omar
Morales (145.5) vs. Jonathan
Pearce (145.5)
