According to MMA Knockout Bets, and corroborated by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the championship bout is official. Specifically, featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega will be featured on the blockbuster UFC 260 pay-per-view. In addition to such a huge title fight, a fight between heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou may be on the table also.
The March 27 card is shaping up to be one of the biggest of 2021. With a double-champion header already on the docket, fans are surely waiting for this one to go down. Additionally, the news excites that much more since Holloway is fighting Calvin Kattar this afternoon on ABC. An unofficial title-eliminator, the bout will definitely pave the way for either athlete to contend for a title. However, many believe since Holloway has had two cracks at Volkanovski, that he could possibly be headed towards “fighter purgatory” where he will never get another shot.
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega for the featherweight title has been booked for UFC 260 on March 27, per sources.
The hope is for the fight to serve as co-main for a card headlined by Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 for the HW title, tho, that fight isn't finalized yet, sources say.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 16, 2021
Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega meet
Prior to the bout announcement, featherweight champion, Volkanovski is coming off back-to-back wins over the former champion, Max Holloway. Interestingly, both fights were incredibly close, but in the end, Volkanovski remained the champion. The decision was controversial because Holloway nearly scored two knockdowns, depending on how one scores a knockdown. Either way, he was able to send the champion to his knee at least once after a hard strike.
Similarly, Ortega has also fought the former champion, Holloway, but with wildly different results. In particular, Holloway was able to overwhelm Ortega with effective footwork and volume striking. Since then, Ortega has made incredible adjustments and subsequent evolution. In his last fight against Chan Sung Jung, Ortega put on a striking masterclass surprising many with such a different look compared to before. Ortega is a well-rounded martial artist. His submission skills are aggressive and his striking is rounding out beautifully.
Here is a list of the UFC bouts targeted for the March 27 card with the addition of Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega:
- Stipe Miocic vs. Francis N’Gannou
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega
- Johnny Walker vs. Jimmy Crute
- M. Bukauskas vs. M. Oleksiejczuk
