Alexander Volkanovski credits Brian Ortega for "bouncing back sharp" despite being unable to see after Round 3 of their fight

Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega face off before UFC 266 [Image credit: @alexvolkanovski on Instagram]

Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega put on a Fight of the Night performance at UFC 266 with the featherweight title on the line. The champion bested Ortega via unanimous decision in their five-round war, even though he was close to getting submitted on two occasions in the third round.

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'The Great' recently revisited the fight and paid compliments to his opponent for bouncing back after losing his sight in the third round. Volkanovski landed some vicious ground-and-pound shots on Ortega's face that badly affected his eyes, especially the right eye. During a sit-down interview with Foxtel Main Event, Volkanovski detailed his emotions about Ortega's recovery:

"But now he bounces back. He was ready to accept that the fight was over... bouncing back sharp... I was ready to go in there, he was mentally broken, physically broken and I'm just going to crumble him... He's sharp, look at him, he's still aware of the range, he's still ready to counter me. I read that, so I was like, 'I can't be too overzealous right now'."

Watch the clip of Alexander Volkanovski's reaction to the fight below:

Both fighters won Fight of the Night bonuses for their performance at UFC 266. Many MMA enthusiasts consider the bout a Fight of the Year candidate.

Alexander Volkanovski reveals his strategy for Brian Ortega at UFC 266

Alexander Volkanovski was not going to let Brian Ortega's resilience deter him from his original game plan. The Australian fighter gave some insight into the strategy for the fight, which involved being unpredictable and hard to read.

This Saturday, Brian Ortega looks to turn T-City into Titletown 🏆

[ @BrianTCity | #UFC266 | Sep 25 | Live on ESPN+ PPV: bit.ly/3B9dgbz ] https://t.co/5az9mKhTTW

During the same sit-down, Volkanovski explained his approach in detail:

"I had to worry about my posture, where my head was, my neck was. One thing, it was just very hard for him to get a read. Mid-combos I was switching stances, get him with right hooks or it would be a straight left from that stance. I switch back, come back with the opposite side hook. Little things like that, constantly just… changing my look."

Watch the clip of Alexander Volkanovski talking about his game plan below:

Alexander Volkanovski is on a 20-fight win streak, with 10 of those fights being in the UFC. Meanwhile, Ortega is interested in welcoming Dan Hooker back to the featherweight division in a future bout.