UFC 266 Results: Alexander Volkanovski Retains His Featherweight Championship

Both fighters had their moments in the second round, as the action remained competitive, with neither pulling away yet, but Volkanovski was staying busier.

Ortega started to get more active in round three, and he landed some hard shots that were quickly answered by the Aussie. A clash of heads bloodied Ortega’s nose and he was showing plenty of damage on his face, but out of nowhere, the challenger dropped Volkanovski and locked in a tight guillotine. Volkanovski looked to be in deep trouble, but he escaped and began unloading with both hands. This time, Ortega caught him in a triangle choke, but again, Volkanovski got free and unleashed a barrage of strikes that nearly finished him before the horn intervened.

Ortega was still in deep trouble as the round ended, barely making it to his stool, but after a visit from the Octagonside physician, he was cleared to continue, and he appeared to have his legs back under him early in round four. In the second minute, Ortega got a takedown and went for the choke again, but it wasn’t as tight as it was in the previous round, and Volkanovski easily escaped before firing off more strikes as Ortega still fished for a submission. Volkanovski was relentless, though, and he had the challenger in danger of being stopped once again. The champion put the fight back on the feet in the final minute, and again, Ortega survived.

Volkanovski tossed away Ortega’s first takedown attempt in round five, but the gutsy challenger didn’t stop trying to turn the fight around, as he landed some hard shots on the champion as they wearily stood inches away from each other down the stretch and both left the fans with one more burst of frenetic action.

Official result – Alexander Volkanovski def. Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-44)

Official Scorecards

Another night, another dominant title defense for Valentina Shevchenko, who successfully defended her UFC women’s flyweight crown for the sixth time with a fourth-round stoppage of Lauren Murphy.

There was little offense from the challenger in the first round, and that was thanks to the incoming fire coming from Shevchenko, who threw hard with her punches and kicks throughout the frame, marking up Murphy’s face before a late takedown by the champion punctuated a dominant round.

As round two began, Murphy clinched up with Shevchenko and sought a single-leg takedown, but “Bullet” wasn’t having it, and she was able to get free and go back to picking and pecking at Murphy with her strikes from long range. Midway through the round, Shevchenko got her second takedown and kept Murphy there until the end of the stanza.

Nothing changed in the third, as Shevchenko continued to dominate, but in the fourth, the champion hurt Murphy and got her on the run, nearly finishing the fight. Murphy hung tough as the fight went to the mat, but Shevchenko’s relentless barrage of ground strikes force referee Keith Peterson to stop the fight at the 4:00 mark of round four.

Shevchenko moves to 22-3 with the win. The No.3-ranked Murphy falls to 15-5.

Official result – Valentina Shevchenko def. Lauren Murphy via TKO (strikes) at 4:00 of round four

Official Scorecards

More than 17 years after their first bout in 2004, Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz met for the second time, with Lawler evening the score with the Stockton fan favorite via third-round TKO in an action-packed middleweight matchup.

Diaz, fighting for the first time since 2015, missed a spinning kick to start the fight and Lawler went on the attack, getting in some unanswered shots before Diaz began firing back, neither apparently interested in using the entire 25 minutes to take care of their business. After the frantic start, the two settled into a groove where each landed shots at close range, Diaz holding the edge in activity, as he worked the body and head.

Continuing to use his volume striking as the second began, Diaz set a high pace again, but he did get jarred briefly by a Lawler kick to the body. After a couple seconds to get his wind back, it was back to throwing punch after punch at Lawler, who kept marching forward with his own offensive attack consisting of an energy-sapping work rate while he stayed in Diaz’ face. And it was Lawler surging at the end of the frame, finishing strong with three rounds to go.

Early in round three, a short right hand dropped Diaz, apparently injuring his nose, and Lawler called him back to his feet. But as Diaz remained on the canvas, referee Jason Herzog asked him to rise, and Diaz didn’t, forcing the stoppage at 44 seconds of the third round.

With the win, the 39-year-old Lawler moves to 29-15, 1 NC. The 38-year-old Diaz, who halted Lawler in their first match, falls to 26-10, 2 NC.

Official result – Robbie Lawler def. Nick Diaz via TKO (strikes) at :44 of round three

Official Scorecards

Heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes fought a Curtis Blaydes fight, using his wrestling attack to shut out Jairzinho Rozenstruik over three rounds.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for the No.4-ranked Blaydes, now 15-3, 1 NC. The No.6-ranked Rozenstruik falls to 12-3.

Blaydes’ jab was sharp as the bout began, and he used it to set up his first takedown a minute into the fight. After taking some ground strikes, Rozenstruik returned to his feet with a little over two minutes to go, but he wasn’t able to steal the round back from the Illinois native.

The crowd got restless as the action slowed in the second, but they erupted when Rozenstruik briefly hurt Blaydes with a knee with 90 seconds remaining, only to be taken to the canvas and kept there in response moments later.

Blaydes went back to his corner with a cut and some swelling under his left eye from Rozenstruik’s right knee, but three minutes into the final round, he got the Suriname native back to the canvas, and he was able to keep the fight there until the horn.

Official result – Curtis Blaydes def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Official Scorecards

Former strawweight champion and current No.1-ranked flyweight contender Jéssica Andrade bounced back from a loss to Valentina Shevchenko with a first-round stoppage of Cynthia Calvillo.

Andrade (22-9) stalked Calvillo (9-3-1) from the start, and while the California native got her shots in, Andrade walked through them and was clearly landing the harder shots. Late in the round, Andrade began unleashing punches with both hands, and with the clock winding down and Calvillo not firing back, referee Herb Dean had seen enough. The official time of the stoppage was 4:54 of round one.

Official result – Jessica Andrade def. Cynthia Calvillo via TKO (strikes) at 4:54 of round one

Official Scorecards

It was a wild one between bantamweight contenders Merab Dvalishvili and Marlon Moraes, with “The Machine” surviving a rough spell in the first round to stop Moraes in the second stanza.

Moraes went after Dvalishvili’s legs with his kicks in the early going, prompting punches upstairs from the Georgian. Moraes eagerly fired back, but that opened him up for a takedown. Moraes didn’t stay down long, and once standing, he drilled his opponent with a pair of left hooks, the second one hurting and staggering Dvalishvili. A furious assault by Moraes followed, and while Dvalishvili stumbled around the Octagon, he kept swinging and even got a takedown with 90 seconds to go, coming back with a barrage of ground strikes that nearly ended the fight in his favor just before the horn sounded.

Dvalishvili rocked Moraes with a right hand to start round two and used it to take the fight to the mat again. There, Dvalishvili fired off more ground strikes with no response from Moraes, and though the Brazilian made it upright with less than two minutes left, Dvalishvili kept the pressure on as they went back to the mat, where more unanswered strikes followed until referee Keith Peterson intervened at the 4:25 mark.

The No.11-ranked Dvalishvili moves to 14-4 with the win. The No.6-ranked Moraes falls to 23-9-1.

Official result – Merab Dvalishvili def. Marlon Moraes via TKO (strikes) at 4:25 of round two

Official Scorecards

After a wild ride to get to Las Vegas, lightweight contender Dan Hooker scored an impressive three-round unanimous decision win over another fighter who had to pull out all the stops to make it to T-Mobile Arena, Nasrat Haqparast.

Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 for the No.8-ranked Hooker, who ups his record to 21-10. Germany’s Haqparast, who had to deal with the recent passing of his mother, falls to 13-4.

Hooker set the pace immediately and he kept it where he wanted throughout a first round that he led behind a measured attack on the feet. Haqparast got his share of shots in, but not nearly enough to deter Hooker from his game plan.

The New Zealander continued to fight effectively in the second, this time at close range, where he mixed things up, grappling well and landing some hard knees. With a little over a minute left, Hooker added a takedown to his scoring column, punctuating the end of the round with ground strikes.

Hooker put the fight back on the mat early in the third round and kept it there until Haqparast got back to his feet – albeit briefly – with a little over a minute to go. But Hooker continued to show off his wrestling game, keeping his foe grounded until the final horn.

Official result – Dan Hooker def. Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Official Scorecards

No. 10-ranked heavyweight contender Chris Daukaus made it 4-0 with four knockouts in the UFC with a blistering second-round finish of No.7-ranked Shamil Abdurakhimov.

Abdurakhimov was the busier of the two throughout the first round, but with 30 seconds remaining, Daukaus surged ahead with a left hook that dropped the Russian hard to the mat. But once on the canvas, Abdurakhimov recovered, defended well and made it out of the round.

Taila Santos improved to 18-1 in her bout against fellow flyweight contender Roxanne Modafferi, winning a shutout three-round unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for the No.12-ranked Santos. The No.9-ranked Modafferi falls to 25-20.

The first round was competitive, but two takedowns and some hard knees in the clinch late likely swung it for Santos, who was unafraid to grapple with the respected black belt.

Santos had an even better round in the second, as she rattled Modafferi with a right hand and again had no issue taking the veteran to the mat and controlling matters there. Unconcerned with resting on her lead, Santos kept the heat on, dropping Modafferi in the second minute of the final frame. Modafferi weathered the storm and made it back to her feet, but she didn’t have enough to turn things around down the stretch.

Official result – Taila Santos def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Official Scorecards

Lightweight prospect Jalin Turner removed Uroš Medić from the ranks of the unbeaten, submitting his foe in the opening round.

Turner put the fight on the mat in the second minute, working from side control, and he kept Medic grounded until under two minutes remained. While standing, Turner rocked Medic with several body shots and then moved upstairs, putting Medic back on the deck. There, he went back to his grappling attack, sinking in the rear naked choke that ended the bout at 4:01 of round one.

Turner moves to 11-5. Medic falls to 7-1.

Official result – Jalin Turner def. Uros Medic via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:01 of round one

Official Scorecards

Brundage did good work on his feet for a good spell of the opening round, but late in the frame, Maximov was able to work his wresting and get his foe to the mat. This ground control continued into the second and third stanzas and Maximov kept it, widening his lead. And while Brundage was able to land some hard shots in the final round, cutting Maximov in the process, it was Stockton’s Maximov going the route and getting the win.

Official result – Nick Maximov def. Cody Brundage via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Official Scorecards

Semelsberger (9-2) ended Sano’s night almost immediately, with a single right hand landing flush and dropping the Las Vegan hard to the mat. A follow-up strike made it official, with referee Mark Smith stopping the fight.

Sano Jr. falls to 4-3-1.

Official result – Matthew Semelsberger def. Martin Sano Jr. via knockout at :15 of round one

Official Scorecards

In the featherweight opener, Jonathan Pearce won his second straight, submitting Omar Morales in the second round.

Morales had a slight edge on the feet in the early going, prompting Pearce to work his grappling attack, which he did to great effect with some takedowns and clinch control along the fence.

Pearce went right back to work to start the second round, getting a takedown a minute in. Morales escaped and nearly sunk in a D’Arce choke, but the Tennessee native got loose and took his foe’s back, patiently maneuvering until he sunk in the rear naked choke that forced a tap out at 3:31 of round two.

Pearce moves to 11-4 with the win; Morales falls to 11-2.

Official result – Jonathan Pearce def. Omar Morales via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:31 of round two

Official Scorecards