5 most explosive moments from UFC 266: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega
Built up as one of the biggest UFC events of 2021, UFC 266: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega delivered some serious action inside the octagon.
Featuring a total of 13 fights, UFC 266 saw knockouts, submissions and more than one memorable war, as well as plenty of explosive moments.
A true battle for the ages 👏
💰 @AlexVolkanovski and @BrianTCity earn your Fight of the Night honors!
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With so much to choose from, it’s tricky to whittle down a few. But here are the five most explosive moments from UFC 266: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega.
#5. Chris Daukaus shows he’s a contender in the UFC heavyweight division
Ranked at #10 in the UFC’s heavyweight division, thanks to his win over Aleksei Oleinik in February, Chris Daukaus was handed another opportunity to impress last night when he was matched with Shamil Abdurakhimov.
The Dagestani native hadn’t fought since September 2019, so Daukaus was favoured to beat him. But few would’ve imagined that he’d do so in such style,.
Seemingly in far better shape than in his previous UFC fight, Daukaus looked quicker than Abdurakhimov from the off. He tagged the latter with several heavy strikes in the early going.
But it was a brutal left hook that landed in the dying seconds of the first round, which was the telling blow. The punch sent Abdurakhimov crashing to the ground. Had there been some more time left in the stanza, the fight would surely have been over.
Thankfully, Daukaus wasted no time in sealing the deal in the second round. He quickly closed his Dagestani foe down, slipped a jab and waylaid him with a violent right hand.
🎁 @ChrisDaukausMMA gave himself a KO victory for his birthday 🎂
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Somehow Abdurakhimov wasn’t knocked unconscious from the shot. But he couldn’t stop a follow-up flurry from Daukaus, and his lights quickly went out from there. Unsurprisingly, the finish netted Daukaus a well-deserved $50K bonus cheque.
This was a hugely explosive showing from Daukaus. He essentially finished Abdurakhimov twice in the same bout. That was proof that he almost certainly belongs in contention for the UFC heavyweight title.