Alexander Volkanovski has enjoyed an incredible run since his only defeat to Corey Nelson way back in 2013 in Melbourne. Fast forward eight years and he proudly sits at the top of the tree in the featherweight division. He only fought once in 2020, beating Max Holloway on a split decision at UFC 251. He’ll be looking to get at least two fights under his belt in 2021, but let’s take a look at his potential timeline.
1. Ortega at UFC 260
Brian Ortega goes for the belt on the back of a great performance against the Korean Zombie back in October on his return from injury. He really showed how much he’d improved since the Holloway defeat almost two years prior.
He’s priced as the underdog for his fight with the champion at odds of +163 (2.62) with leading betting sites like bet365 and Unibet. This price is a good indicator of just how good Volkanovski is. The Aussie is priced at -200 (1.50) and -188 (1.53) with top Australian betting sites like Unibet and bet365 respectively. They’re both very competitive prices, but bet365 offers slightly better value on the champ.
Volkanovski is clearly entering this fight full of confidence, and he doesn’t feel he’ll have any trouble getting his hand raised on the night:
“The guy’s always been a good fighter,” Volkanovski said in a recent interview. “I talk about his improvements as if he wasn’t good. He’s always been a great fighter and he’s always had a lot of good skills. But I believe he has evolved. This whole ‘Ortega 2.0,’ I believe it. I’ve seen a different fighter in there – even though he’s always been dangerous. He’s always been good at timing and picking the right shots, but right now all the in-betweens he’s just got down pat at the moment. There’s a lot of things that I’ve seen that was impressive, so I’m expecting a new challenge, a tough challenge and a different challenge.
[#2 SW] 
[#6 FW] 
[#19 FW] 
[#13 HW] 
[#24 HW] 
