UFC 266 will officially feature a pair of title fights at the
top of the bill.
UFC president Dana White confirmed to promotion broadcast partner
ESPN on Tuesday that a featherweight clash pitting reigning
champ Alexander
Volkanovski against Brian Orega will serve as the evening’s
headliner, while Valentina
Shevchenko will defend her flyweight crown against Lauren
Murphy.
UFC 266 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 25
and will also see Nick Diaz
return for the first time since 2015 in a five-round, non-title
matchup with Robbie
Lawler.
Volkanovski was originally slated to defend his belt against Ortega
at UFC 260 on March 27, but the Australian champion tested positive
for COVID-19 to put that matchup on hold. The two featherweights
were then tabbed as coaches on Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Volkanovski is currently on a 19-bout professional winning streak
that includes nine triumphs in the UFC. He claimed 145-pound gold
with a five-round verdict over Max
Holloway at UFC 245 and made his first defense with a
split-decision triumph over the Hawaiian in a rematch at UFC
251.
After falling to Holloway via four-round doctor stoppage in a title
bout at UFC 231, Ortega rebounded to outpointed Chan Sung
Jung in the UFC Fight Night 180 headliner this past October.
“T-City” has lost just once in 17 professional outings and owns
other notable triumphs over the likes of Frankie
Edgar, Cub Swanson,
Renato
Carneiro and Clay
Guida.
Shevchenko continued her dominant reign at flyweight at UFC 261,
where she defeated former strawweight queen Jessica
Andrade via second-round TKO on April 24. The former
bantamweight title challenger is 7-0 at 125 pounds with five
successful title defenses to her credit.
A former Invicta FC title holder, Murphy has won five straight in
the Octagon after dropping four of her first six appearances within
the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 37-year-old known
as “Lucky” captured a split-decision win against Joanne
Calderwood at UFC 263 on June 12.