5 most hard-hitting predictions for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega at UFC 266

#4. UFC featherweight Danny Chavez

Danny Chavez predicts Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega [Photo via @dwarrior875 on IG]

UFC featherweight Danny Chavez will be tuning in to UFC 266 to watch Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega, the two top dogs in his division, battle it out for the title. Ahead of the pay-per-view, 'The Colombian Warrior' caught up with Sportskeeda MMA to reveal his pick for the Alexander Volkanovksi vs. Brian Ortega championship bout. He said:

"I'll be honest. Anything is possible in MMA. Anything. I think in combat sports, the biggest upsets have been in MMA. I think boxing is a little safer," stated Danny Chavez. "In MMA, anything could happen. But I believe Alexander will come on top. I think Brian Ortega does really well with people that have okay footwork, and that's not Alexander. He moves a lot. He's all over the cage... I just think Alexander's a smart fighter, and I always go with the brains over anything... I'll go with Alexander."

Official UFC 266 pick: Alexander Volkanovski

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#3. UFC featherweight contender Giga Chikadze

Giga Chikadze predicts Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega

Fast-rising UFC featherweight contender Giga Chikadze is torn between picking Alexander Volkanovski or Brian Ortega. According to the Georgian striking whiz, Ortega's previous performance against 'The Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung convinced him that 'T-City' had drastically evolved since the Holloway fight.

Ortega's deficiencies in the striking department were exposed by Holloway at UFC 231. But 'T-City' immediately bounced back with an impressive wire-to-wire win against Jung at UFC Fight Night 180.

Chikadze, who's a few wins away from challenging for the 145-pound strap himself, believes Alexander Volkanovski should still be the favorite. However, Chikadze added that a Brian Ortega victory would not surprise him one bit. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Chikadze said:

"At least both of them are shorter guys, you know, strong style. If I wouldn't see Brian's last performance, I would definitely give this fight to Volkanovski. But we've seen how Brian progressed, we've seen his boxing. So his strategy was very good when he fought Zombie and I don't know man, it's a very tough one. I still having Volk in this fight but I will not be surprised if Brian gets the job done."

Official UFC 266 pick: Alexander Volkanovski