UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Daniel Cornmeat
- 16 hours ago
- 8 min read
Introduction
UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega took place on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was the second UFC pay-per-view of 2021 to feature a championship fight that almost slipped away from the champion in real time, the night Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz finally finished their decade-old rivalry, and one of the most quietly excellent main cards of the year. The card produced an estimated 750,000 pay-per-view buys.
Alexander Volkanovski's third successful featherweight title defense was a five-round masterclass that included two of the most dangerous moments of his championship career. In round three, Brian Ortega — the jiu-jitsu specialist with seven UFC submission wins — locked in a guillotine from his back that nearly forced a tap, then transitioned to a triangle that had Volkanovski's chin pressed against his own shoulder for over thirty seconds. The Australian survived both, won the remaining rounds, and took the unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 50-44).
The co-main saw Valentina Shevchenko make her fifth successful women's flyweight title defense with a fourth-round TKO of Lauren Murphy. The undercard featured the long-awaited Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler rematch — a decade after their first meeting at UFC 47 in April 2004 — with Lawler winning by TKO after Diaz turned his back in round three.
Contents
• FAQ
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, September 25, 2021
📍 Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
👥 Attendance: 17,732 (full capacity)
💰 Gate: $5.1 million
📺 PPV Buys: ~750,000
📡 Broadcast: Pay-per-view (ESPN+ in USA)
🏆 Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Brian Ortega — UFC Featherweight Championship (145 lbs)
✅ Result: Volkanovski def. Ortega via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 50-44)
🥇 Co-Main: Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Lauren Murphy via TKO (punches) — R4, 3:20 — Women's Flyweight Title
The Build-Up
Alexander Volkanovski entered UFC 266 as the most quietly dominant champion in the UFC — 22-1 overall, 9-0 in the UFC, and on the back of two successful title defenses against Max Holloway (UFC 245 and UFC 251). His featherweight reign had been characterised by tactical precision: he was rarely the most physically gifted fighter in the matchup, but he had outworked every challenger he had faced. He was 6 inches shorter than Holloway and won twice; the question entering UFC 266 was whether his height and reach disadvantages would catch up with him against a more dangerous challenger.
Brian Ortega was the most dangerous submission threat in the featherweight division. He was 15-1 with seven UFC submission wins, on a comeback after his 2018 loss to Max Holloway, and had locked in a unanimous-decision win over the Korean Zombie at UFC FN: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie in October 2020 that had earned him the title shot. His T-City submissions — a hybrid of guillotine, triangle, and crucifix variations — were the most studied submission system in the division. Betting opened Volkanovski at -250.
The co-main saw Valentina Shevchenko in her fifth women's flyweight title defense against Lauren Murphy. Murphy had earned the title shot via a four-fight UFC win streak that included a unanimous-decision win over Liliya Shakirova at UFC 254 and a unanimous-decision win over Joanne Calderwood at UFC 263. The undercard featured the long-awaited Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler rematch — a fight 17 years after their first meeting at UFC 47.
Main Event: Volkanovski vs. Ortega
Round one was Volkanovski's. He used his footwork and leg kicks to control distance, scored a takedown at the 3:00 mark, and finished the round on top. Round two was similar — Volkanovski's volume striking and wrestling controlled three full minutes. By the end of round two, all three judges had it 20-18 or 19-19 for Volkanovski.
Round three was where the fight changed. At 1:30 of the round, Ortega landed a clean left hand that hurt Volkanovski. The challenger pursued, dragged Volkanovski to the canvas, and locked in a tight guillotine choke from his back. For nearly 30 seconds, Volkanovski's chin was pressed into his shoulder; he was within seconds of unconsciousness. He defended the choke by working his head free, then immediately found himself trapped in a triangle. The triangle was equally tight; he survived only by stacking Ortega's legs and forcing the angle to break. Volkanovski escaped with under a minute remaining in the round but had clearly been hurt.
Rounds four and five were Volkanovski's. The champion had survived the most dangerous moments of his career, recovered between the third and fourth rounds, and dominated the championship rounds with takedowns and ground-and-pound. Final scorecards: 50-45, 49-46, 50-44 for the Australian. His third UFC featherweight title defense was complete, but the takeaway was clear — he had been within seconds of losing the belt.
In his post-fight interview, Volkanovski paid Ortega respect: "Brian, you almost had me. That's the most dangerous submission attempt I've ever defended." The two would not rematch. Volkanovski would defend the title four more times before losing it to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024. Ortega would not get another featherweight title shot.
Co-Main Event: Shevchenko vs. Murphy
Valentina Shevchenko fought another dominant five-round performance. She controlled distance, picked at the body with clinch knees, and avoided the wild exchanges Lauren Murphy wanted. By the end of round three, Murphy had landed just 22 significant strikes to Shevchenko's 89.
Round four ended it. At 3:20, Shevchenko landed a clean knee from the clinch followed by combinations against the cage. Murphy collapsed; the referee waved it off. It was Shevchenko's fifth successful women's flyweight title defense and a record-equalling stretch of dominance for the division. She would go on to defend three more times before losing the title to Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC in September 2023.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Alexander Volkanovski (c) def. Brian Ortega — Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 50-44) — Featherweight Title
Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Lauren Murphy — TKO (punches) — R4, 3:20 — Women's Flyweight Title
Robbie Lawler def. Nick Diaz — TKO (punches) — R3, 0:44 — Welterweight (5 rounds, non-title)
Curtis Blaydes def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik — Unanimous Decision (30-27 ×3) — Heavyweight
Jared Cannonier def. Kelvin Gastelum — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Middleweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Dan Hooker def. Nasrat Haqparast — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Lightweight
Jessica-Rose Clark def. Joselyne Edwards — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Women's Bantamweight
Marlon Moraes def. N/A (Correction: Merab Dvalishvili def. Marlon Moraes via TKO R1, 0:79) — Bantamweight
Roxanne Modafferi def. Taila Santos — N/A (Correction: Santos def. Modafferi via Unanimous Decision) — Women's Flyweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Curtis Blaydes — $50,000 for the dominant decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Jared Cannonier — $50,000 for the unanimous decision over Kelvin Gastelum.
🥊 Fight of the Night: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega — $50,000 each.
Records & Milestones
• Volkanovski's third successful UFC Featherweight Championship defense and 10th consecutive UFC win.
• Shevchenko's fifth successful women's flyweight title defense — a record at the time for the women's 125-lb division.
• Robbie Lawler vs. Nick Diaz — first rematch in UFC history between two fighters whose original bout had occurred 17 years and 5 months apart.
• Diaz turned his back in round three, leading to the TKO stoppage — the second time in his MMA career he had effectively quit on the stool / mid-action.
• Ortega's two near-finishes in round three — both within seconds of forcing a tap — became one of the most-replayed sequences of 2021.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 266 is remembered as one of the most underrated championship cards of 2021 — a Volkanovski-Ortega main event that produced Fight of the Night, a Shevchenko fifth title defense that confirmed her division dominance, and the long-awaited closing of the Diaz-Lawler rivalry. The Volkanovski-Ortega sequence in round three (guillotine, transition to triangle, escape) became one of the most-studied jiu-jitsu defences in modern UFC.
For Alexander Volkanovski, the win confirmed his case as the most under-the-radar dominant champion of his era. He went on to defend the title four more times — against Chan Sung Jung (UFC 273, April 2022), Max Holloway 3 (UFC 276, July 2022), Yair Rodriguez (UFC 290, July 2023), and Ilia Topuria (UFC 298, February 2024, where Volkanovski lost the title by KO). He also moved up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 (where he lost a competitive UD) and UFC 294 (where he was KO'd in round one).
For Brian Ortega, the loss was not a career-ender but did effectively close his championship window. He went 1-2 in subsequent UFC bouts and stepped away from competition in 2023 due to ongoing shoulder injuries.
For Valentina Shevchenko, UFC 266 was the fifth of eight women's flyweight title defenses she would make before losing the belt to Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC in September 2023. Her seven-defense record (including the eight at UFC 275) remains tied for the most in women's UFC flyweight history.
FAQ
How close was Ortega to submitting Volkanovski?
Very close. Ortega locked in a tight guillotine choke from his back at around 1:30 of round three; Volkanovski's chin was pressed into his own shoulder for nearly 30 seconds. Volkanovski worked his head free, only to find himself in a triangle position with equally tight pressure. He survived only by stacking Ortega's legs and forcing the angle to break. Either submission could have ended the fight; the sequence has been studied as one of the most successful submission escapes in championship history.
Did Diaz really quit on the stool?
Not exactly. Diaz turned his back to Lawler at 0:44 of round three and walked away from the action; Lawler hit him with one clean shot to the head and the referee stopped it. The technical ruling was TKO. Diaz had previously been in a similar situation against Joe Riggs in 2009 (Strikeforce); his pattern of disengaging mid-fight when behind on cards has been an unusual feature of his MMA career. He had not fought since 2015 before UFC 266 and has not fought since.
How long had Diaz been away from MMA?
Six years. His last fight before UFC 266 had been a January 2015 no-contest against Anderson Silva at UFC 183 — a result that was overturned to a no-contest after Silva failed a drug test. He had been suspended from competition for almost three years over a 2015 marijuana failure (later reversed) and had not fought since. The rematch against Lawler was the first time he had stepped into the UFC Octagon since.
Has Volkanovski ever been finished?
Yes, twice in MMA. His pre-UFC record included a 2013 KO loss to Corey Nelson in 2013 (after he had moved down to featherweight). In the UFC, he was KO'd by Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024 and KO'd by Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October 2023 (in a lightweight title fight). The Ortega near-submissions at UFC 266 were the closest he had come to being finished in his UFC career up to that point.
Was the 5-round non-title format used again?
Yes. The Diaz-Lawler bout was the second UFC five-round non-title fight after Leon Edwards vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 263 in June 2021. The format has since been used multiple times for premier non-title UFC bouts.
How does UFC 266 compare to UFC 265?
UFC 266 drew approximately 750,000 PPV buys versus UFC 265 (500,000) seven weeks earlier. The 250,000-buy jump reflected the depth of the card — two title fights plus the Diaz-Lawler return — and the Volkanovski-Ortega main event's pre-fight hype. UFC 266's gate of $5.1 million was the highest non-McGregor 2021 UFC PPV gate to that point.
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