Two titles will be on the line come this weekend’s UFC 266.
In the Pay-per-View card’s main event, featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski returns from over a year on the sidelines. After a coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter 29, not to mention a battle with COVID-19, the Australian puts his belt on the line against Brian Ortega.
The co-main event sees dominant women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko looking for title defense #6 when she takes on Lauren Murphy. Should she defend her title successfully, “Bullet” will tie former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey with the most title defenses for any female champion in UFC history.
Nick Diaz, meanwhile, is set to return to the octagon for the first time since 2015, in a rematch with UFC 47 foe Robbie Lawler. Just days out from the event, the fight had been moved from welterweight to middleweight, apparently at the behest of the Diaz camp.
Weigh-ins for UFC 266 take place Friday. Full results can be found below.
All fighters successfully made weight for UFC 266, including Nasrat Haqparast and Dan Hooker — both of whom received their visas at the last minute, arriving in Las Vegas late in Fight Week.
UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega Weigh-In Results
Main card
Featherweight: Alexander Volkanovski (c) (144.5) vs. Brian Ortega (144) – for the UFC featherweight championship
Women’s Flyweight: Valentina Shevchenko (c) (124) vs. Lauren Murphy (125) – for the UFC flyweight championship
Middleweight: Nick Diaz (185.5) vs. Robbie Lawler (184)
Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes (261) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (257)
Women’s Flyweight: Jéssica Andrade (126) vs. Cynthia Calvillo (126)
Preliminary card
Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes (135.5) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (135.5)
Lightweight: Dan Hooker (155.5) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (154.5)
Heavyweight: Shamil Abdurakhimov (258) vs. Chris Daukaus (231)
Women’s Flyweight: Roxanne Modafferi (125.5) vs. Taila Santos (125)
Early preliminary card
Lightweight: Uroš Medić (156) vs. Jalin Turner (156)
Middleweight: Cody Brundage (185.5) vs. Nick Maximov (185.5)
Welterweight: Matthew Semelsberger (170.5) vs. Martin Sano Jr. (170)
Featherweight: Jonathan Pearce (145.5) vs. Omar Morales (145.5)
