Alexander
Volkanovski’s great was too good for Brian
Ortega.
Volkanovski (23-1, 10-0 UFC) strengthened his grip on the
undisputed
UFC 266 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
All three cageside judges scored it for the Australian: 49-46,
50-45 and 50-44.
The story was told across five grueling rounds. Volkanovski let fly
with powerful two- and three-punch combinations, pestered the
Californian with his jab and refused to take his foot off the
accelerator. Round 3 was sensational. Ortega (15-2, 7-2 UFC)
knocked the champion off-balance with a left hand, jumped on a
mounted guillotine choke and appeared to be a heartbeat or two away
from finishing it. Volkanovski freed himself and moved into top
position, only to find himself entangled in a triangle choke—the
very maneuver from which the challenger’s nickname originates.
Again, the Freestyle Fighting Gym rep managed to escape. Ferocious
ground-and-pound followed, and an exhausted Ortega struggled to get
to his feet once the round was complete. He threatened
Volkanovski’s neck again in the fourth, where he struck for a
takedown and immediately clamped down on a brabo choke. Unable to
involve his legs, Ortega was forced to release it and yet again
absorbed savage ground strikes for his troubles, the Aussie’s spear
tipped by brutal standing-to-ground punches.
Both men were visibly spent in Round 5 but never stopped firing
punches at one another. Having absorbed upwards of 200 significant
strikes, Ortega was barely recognizable by fight’s end.
Shevchenko Routs Overmatched Murphy
Valentina
Shevchenko retained her undisputed UFC women’s flyweight
championship with a fourth-round technical knockout of Lauren
Murphy in the co-main event. Now on an eight-fight tear,
Shevchenko (22-3, 11-2 UFC) slammed the door 4:00 into Round 4.
Murphy (15-5, 7-5 UFC) was leagues below one of the sport’s most
dominant competitors. Shevchenko kept her at bay with clean
counters, damaging low kicks and occasional body blows, all while
mixing in takedowns at opportune times. She dazed Murphy with a
counter right hook in the fourth round, followed with a head kick
and gave chase with punches. Shevchenko then took down the former
Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder and let the elbows and
punches fly until referee Keith
Peterson had seen enough.
The loss halted Murphy’s five-fight winning streak.
Lawler Stops Diaz in Rematch
Former welterweight champion Robbie
Lawler brought down Nick Diaz with
punches in the third round of their long-awaited rematch, this time
at 185 pounds. Seventeen-plus years after their initial encounter
ended in his being knocked out at UFC 47, Lawler (29-15, 14-9 UFC)
drew the curtain 44 seconds into Round 3 and evened their
head-to-head series at 1-1.
In his first appearance since Jan. 31, 2015, Diaz (26-10, 7-7 UFC)
started strong—he pieced together some of his patented multi-punch
combinations to the body and head in the first round—but appeared
to simply run out of gas. Lawler appeared to wound him with a liver
kick in the middle stanza, then turned up the heat in the third. He
connected with a right hook that dropped Diaz to a knee and
followed with a sweeping left uppercut that forced the longtime
Cesar
Gracie disciple to retreat to his back. When referee Jason
Herzog asked Diaz if he wished to continue, he declined.
The victory was Lawler’s first in more than four years and snapped
his career-worst four-fight losing streak.
Tactical Blaydes Upends Rozenstruik
Elevation Fight Team’s Curtis
Blaydes rebounded from his Feb. 20 knockout loss to Derrick
Lewis with a unanimous decision over Jairzinho
Rozenstruik in their three-round heavyweight showcase. All
three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Blaydes (15-3,
10-3 UFC).
Rozenstruik (12-3, 6-3 UFC) was content to sit back and hunt
counters—a tactic that did not lend itself to sustained periods of
success. Blaydes executed takedowns in all three rounds, pairing
them with top control and ground-and-pound while neutralizing the
Surinamese kickboxer. However, he did not escape the cage
unscathed. A well-timed knee strike from Rozenstruik resulted in a
small cut and significant damage under his right eye in the second
round, and by the time the fight was over, it had nearly swollen
shut.
Blaydes has rattled off five victories in six outings.
Dynamic Andrade Bullies Calvillo
Parana Vale Tudo star Jessica
Andrade disposed of Cynthia
Calvillo with punches in the first round of their women’s
flyweight feature. Calvillo (9-3-1, 6-3-1 UFC) bowed out 4:54 into
Round 1, as she suffered his second straight setback.
Andrade (21-10, 12-8 UFC) showed the Californian no respect. She
bullied Calvillo backward with power punches and leg kicks, then
cracked with a combination. Andrade clipped her with a right hook,
cut loose with uppercuts and pinned her to the fence. Calvillo
turtled into a defensive shell and ate repeated punches without
defending herself, prompting referee Herb Dean to
act on her behalf.
The 30-year-old Andrade has won six of her past nine bouts.
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UFC 266 Prelims: Dvalishvili Breaks Moraes in Las Vegas