UFC 266: VOLKANOVSKI VS ORTEGA, Picks, Odds, & Analysis | The MMA Vivisection

Zane Simon & Connor Ruebusch are here with the MMA Vivisection MAIN CARD SHOW, breaking down a set of 5 bouts on this 13-bout UFC 266: 'Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega' ESPN+ PPV event card.

"While the UFC’s recent Fight Night offerings haven’t been much to write home about lately, the promotion is leaving little room for complaint with their PPV cards. UFC 266 features a couple of title fights, with Alexander Volkanovski defending his featherweight crown against Brian Ortega and Valentina Shevchenko defending her flyweight belt against Lauren Murphy. Fans will also be treated to a legendary battle 17 years in the making when Robbie Lawler rematches Nick Diaz. Throw some Blaydes vs. Rozenstruik and Andrade vs. Calvillo action in there, and it should be a treat." – Zane Simon

That still leaves plenty to talk about on the prelims, however, including a top-flight bantamweight bout between Marlon Moraes and Merab Dvalishvili. For those fans who wish to dive deeper into a breakdown of all the undercard action check out that version of the MMA Vivi which aired at 1pm Central today, Thurs., Sep. 23rd., 2021, right here on our SC channel.

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UFC 266 on ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD | 10PM/7PM ETPT
13. 145lbs UFC Featherweight Championship - 5 Rds: Alexander Volkanovski (22-1) vs. Brian Ortega (15-1) – At 2:34, Odds 32:23, Picks, Both: Volkanovski

12. 125lbs UFC Flyweight Championship - 5 Rds: Valentina Shevchenko (21-3) vs. Lauren Murphy (15-4) – At 33:24, Odds 42:53, Picks, Both: Shevchenko

11. 185lbs Robbie Lawler (28-15) vs. Nick Diaz (26-9) – At 43:07, Odds 53:27, Picks, Zane: Lawler, Connor: Diaz

10. 265lbs Curtis Blaydes (14-3) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-2) – At 54:28, Odds 59:58, Picks, Both: Blaydes

9. 125lbs Jéssica Andrade (21-9) vs. Cynthia Calvillo (9-2) – At 1:00:08, Odds 1:09:04, Picks, Zane: Andrade, Connor: Calvillo

ESPN PRELIMS | 8PM/5PM ETPT
8. Marlon Moraes (23-8) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (13-4) – Picks, Both: Dvaslishvili
7. Dan Hooker (20-10) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (13-3) – Picks, Both: Hooker
6. Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-5) vs. Chris Daukaus (11-3) – Picks, Zane: Daukaus, Connor: Abdurakhimov
5. Roxanne Modafferi (25-18) vs. Taila Santos (17-1) – Picks, Both: Santos

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 6PM/3PM ETPT
4. Uros Medic (7-0) vs. Jalin Turner (10-5) – Picks, Both: Turner
3. Nick Maximov (6-0) vs. Karl Roberson withdrew / Replaced by Cody Brundage (6-1) – Picks, Both: Roberson, before change in bout
2. Matthew Semelsberger (8-3) vs. Martin Sano (4-2) – Picks, Both: Semelsberger
1. Jonathan Pearce (10-4) vs. Omar Morales (11-1) – Picks, Both: Morales

For those of you following the picks made on the show, we started tracking them with the July 13th, 2020 Vivisections for ‘Kattar vs. Ige’... Standings for our last event, UFC Vegas 37: Zane went 10 out of the 14 bouts we watched this week, Connor went 8 out of those 14, one of which ended in a draw. So far, here are the overall standings: Zane is now 366/596 and Connor is now 356/596.

Be sure to follow Zane on twitter @TheZaneSimon, follow Connor, @BoxingBusch, and follow @BloodyElbow for all the latest in MMA happenings. If you enjoy our show, "heart" us here on SC, or "like" & share over on whichever BE Presents Podcast Channel happens to be your listening platform of choice.