Featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega set for March
Alexander Volkanovski set to defend title
A featherweight title fight is all set for March when Alexander Volkanovski takes on Brian Ortega on the UFC 260 fight card. The news was first reported by ESPN. This news isn’t necessarily a surprise since Ortega is the number one contender, however, the date is an interesting one because the talk of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2 is for the same night. If that deal is made then the featherweight title fight will be pushed back to the co-main event.
Volkanovski’s rise to power in the featherweight division was slow but sure. He came to the UFC back in 2016 and flew under the radar for a while. He put away some of the best the UFC’s featherweight division had to offer on his way up the rankings, including had Mendes, and Jose Aldo. His resume was impressive and finally, he secured that title shot he had been searching for. He was pit up against Max Holloway, a very tough champion, and beat him twice to secure his place as the current featherweight king. Now he is ready to continue his journey through the division with his first title defense not named Holloway.
Ortega is no stranger to the spotlight. He has been up there at the top of the featherweight rankings for some time now and even had a title shot against Holloway back in 2018. That first shot at UFC gold didn’t go his way, but he returned to form with his last outing against “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung. Ortega defeated Jung by unanimous decision back in October and was promised a title shot for his effort. That time is set now for March, although the location is not yet determined. It will most likely be Las Vegas of Abu Dhabi since no other venue has been used for a UFC event since last spring.
