UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski made his second successful title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 266. Volkanovski previously defended his belt against Max Holloway. The Aussie became only the fifth fighter in the history of the promotion to start his UFC career 10-0.

Anderson Silva, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, and Royce Gracie are the other fighters to achieve that feat in history. Volkanovski has had a perfect start to his UFC career so far. However, the level of competition the champion has faced so far in his career is absolutely phenomenal.

Volkanovski has already faced the very best fighters in the history of the featherweight division. He holds wins against the likes of Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, Max Holloway twice, Brian Ortega, and more. So, he is certainly one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

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Alexander Volkanovski vs Brian Ortega: A fight of the year contender?

Volkanovski and Ortega absolutely went to war in their fight. Although the judges scored the fight in favor of the champion, there’s no denying the fact that Ortega’s toughness was on full display as well. ‘T-City’ managed to lock up the champion twice in dangerous submission attempts. Especially his first guillotine choke attempt, which was a potential fight ender.

But, Volkanovski showed he is the champion for a reason. His conditioning was absolutely supreme. And there have never been any questions about the variety of skills the champion possesses.

It will be interesting to see who the UFC matches up the two fighters against next. The winner was set to rematch Max Holloway next. But the Hawaiian will take on Yair Rodriguez in November. So, maybe Giga Chikadze could be next for either Volkanovski or Ortega.

Ortega must undoubtedly be gutted to let his second opportunity to become a UFC champion slip away. But he remains a supreme fighter and one with a lot of heart. There is no doubt ‘T-City‘ will work his way back to another shot at the title. When the duo eventually returns to the Octagon, remains to be seen.

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