5 bold predictions for UFC 266

UFC 266 is just around the corner. The card will be headlined by a featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. Despite being in the UFC for almost five years, this will be the first time 'The Great' has headlined an event in the promotion.

The co-main event of UFC 266 will feature a championship bout between flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko and No.3-ranked contender Lauren Murphy.

A heavyweight clash between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Curtis Blaydes will also feature on the main card of the event. A flyweight showdown between Jessica Andrade and Cynthia Calvillo will also go down at the event. Both fighters will be looking to put themselves back in the win column with a victory at UFC 266.

The event will also mark the return of MMA royalty Nick Diaz, who was last seen in action in January 2015 when he took on Anderson Silva at UFC 183.

The UFC 266 card features several other amazing matchups, including a lightweight banger between Dan Hooker and Nasrat Haqparast. An exciting bantamweight matchup between former title challenger Marlon Moraes and rising 135-pounder Merab Dvalishvili is also set to go down.

On that note, let's take a look at five bold predictions that could come true for UFC 266:

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#5. Jairzinho Rozenstruik will knock out Curtis Blaydes at UFC 266

Curtis Blaydes has taken out big names like Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt and Andrei Arlovski during his run in the UFC. But the 'Razor's Achilles heel has been fighters with devastating knockout power. Blaydes only has losses against Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis, both of whom knocked the 30-year-old out in their fights.

'Bigi Boy's fight against Overeem is quite an example of his exemplary power of putting anyone's lights out with a single blow. Also, 11 out of Rozenstruik's 12 MMA wins have come via knockout.

If the Surinamese fighter manages to connect to land a clean shot on Blaydes, it might be the end of the night for him.

Here are the Latest UFC Predictions by Sportskeeda

#4. Marlon Moraes will be unable to break his losing skid against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 266

Marlon Moraes will meet Merab Dvalishvili in a bantamweight contest in the prelims of UFC 266.

Ever since losing his title shot against Henry Cejudo at UFC 238, 'Magic' has been going through a rough patch in the UFC. After losing via third-round TKO to 'The Messenger', Moraes faced fellow Brazilian fighter Jose Aldo in a three-round contest at UFC 245 in December 2019.

The razor-close fight ended with a split decision victory for 'Magic'. But the fight raised controversy as many believed that it was the 'King of Rio' who was the rightful victor.

As a result, Aldo was awarded a title shot despite the loss. Moraes then fought Cory Sandhagen at UFC Fight Night 179. 'Magic' came up short that night as he was knocked out via a spinning wheel kick by 'The Sandman' in the second round.

'Magic' then faced another knockout loss against Rob Font at UFC Fight Night 183 in December 2020.

The Brazilian fighter is now set to face another tough opponent in Dvalishvili, who is currently riding a six-fight win streak in the UFC. The streak includes wins over high-level fighters like John Dodson and Cody Stamann.

According to a Twitter account named 'MMA by the Numbers', 'The Machine' also holds the record for the highest number of takedowns for a fighter in his first eight UFC bouts.

So it appears that Moraes is again in for a rough night at UFC 266 as he might not be able to withstand Dvalishvili's pressure for three consecutive rounds.

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#3. Valentina Shevchenko will not be able to finish Lauren Murphy at UFC 266

Valentina Shevchenko has been reigning over the women's flyweight division for years now. No fighter has come close to beating 'Bullet' for the flyweight title. But there is a good possibility that Shevchenko will face her toughest competition at 125 pounds in Lauren Murphy at UFC 266.

One major reason for this prediction is the fact that Lauren Murphy, who is currently riding a five-fight win streak in the UFC, has never been finished in her entire MMA career. So there is a good chance that the UFC 266 co-main event will be a close contest that will go the full distance of 25 minutes.

#2. Alexander Volkanovski will secure a decision win over Brian Ortega at UFC 266

For his second title defense, Alexander Volkanovski will face Brian Ortega in the main event of UFC 266. The fight has been brewing for a long time and the two fighters' stint as coaches on 'The Ultimate Fighter' has made the rivalry even more intense.

It is likely that 'T-City' will fail to snatch featherweight gold in his second shot as well. This is due to the fact that although Ortega showed significant improvement in his fight against 'The Korean Zombie' in October 2020, it still might not be enough to get the better of 'The Great'.

Volkanovski also secured two straight wins over Max Holloway. 'Blessed' battered Ortega for twenty long minutes before the fight ended via doctor stoppage. So, although it will be difficult for Volkanovski to finish 'T-City', he has a good chance of securing a decision win at UFC 266.

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#1. Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler will be 'Fight of the Night' at UFC 266

Arguably the most exciting matchup for UFC 266 consists of a rematch 17 years in the making. Nick Diaz will face former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in a five-round non-main event non-title fight at UFC 266.

The two fighters first faced off at UFC 47 where Diaz secured a knockout win over 'Ruthless' in the second round. Since their first encounter, both fighters have gone on to make big names for themselves and are today considered to be legends of the sport.

Diaz, who has always been known to bring the fight to his opponents. Lawler, meanwhile, will be looking to redeem himself after suffering four losses in a row. The two fighters have a total of 81 professional fights between them but their combined knockout losses only come up to five.

So, there is a high probability that the contest will be a five-round slugfest that will end up taking home the 'Fight of the Night' honors.