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One of the UFC's most highly anticipated shows in recent memory, UFC 266, went down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The stacked card produced several highlight-worthy moments. Jalin Turner handed Uros Medic his first professional loss in a dominant display, while Chris Daukaus continued his perfect start to his UFC career with a knockout win over Shamil Abdurakhimov.
The featured prelim bouts and the main card, which featured numerous superstars, delivered as well. Here are the best and worst moments from UFC 266: Alexander Volkanovski vs Brian Ortega.
#5 Best: Merab Dvalishvili and Dan Hooker pick up massive wins at UFC 266
The stacked main card meant that talented contenders like Merab Dvalishvili and Dan Hooker were consigned to the prelims. Both fighters entered UFC 266 with different goals in mind.
While Dvalishvili looked to build on his six-fight win streak and establish himself as a legitimate bantamweight threat with a win over a former title challenger in Marlon Moraes, Hooker was on a quest to snap a two-fight losing streak. Both fighters walked away happy, albeit under different circumstances.
Dvalishvili was horribly rocked in the first round and the fight was seconds away from being stopped, but he miraculously recovered and rained punches down on Moraes. The Brazilian had no answer to the relentlessness of 'The Machine', who sealed the show in the second round.
Meanwhile, Hooker cruised to a win over Nasrat Haqparast, rebounding from his losses to Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler. 'The Hangman' employed an uncharacteristic grappling-heavy strategy, taking the German down and controlling him for around seven minutes. He also showed fleetness of foot and kicking ability during the fight, which he won by unanimous decision.
#4 Worst: Jairzinho Rozenstruik turns in yet another insipid performance
If you needed any evidence that Jairzinho Rozenstruik has a long way to go before he can become a legitimate heavyweight contender, his UFC 266 fight against Curtis Blaydes was damning to say the least.
With losses to Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane already, Rozenstruik desperately needed to notch up a win over the fourth-ranked Blaydes, who might have fallen behind 'Bigi Boy' in the rankings had he lost. After all, 'Razor' himself has losses to Ngannou (twice) and Derrick Lewis. But it wasn't to be for the Suriname native, who looked out of sorts throughout the fight.
Rozenstruik's output has always been under question, and it only got worse as he spent a considerable amount of time in every round on the ground. He made no real effort to bring the fight back to the feet and appeared to be winded immediately after the first grappling exchange.
Despite a knee that landed on Blaydes in the second round, Rozenstruik failed to clinch key moments in the fight to suffer a highly damaging loss.
#3 Best: Valentina Shevchenko proves she is several cuts above the rest with dominant display
Valentina Shevchenko is a flyweight wrecking ball that destroys everything in her path, and the latest victim was Lauren Murphy at UFC 266.
Coming into the fight, very few gave Murphy a real chance of even troubling the champion, let alone winning. A few minutes into the contest, it was clear to see why.
'Lucky' was comprehensively outfought in all aspects as Shevchenko threw fierce combinations, a variety of kicks and long-range counters. She even landed a takedown at the end of each of the first two rounds, almost as if she wanted to show she could.
'Bullet' capped off an almost flawless display with a fierce barrage of punches that had Murphy fighting to stay in the, well, fight. Eventually, some ground-and-pound ensured that her stronghold over the flyweight division continued. Surely Amanda Nunes is Shevchenko's only possible next opponent now.
#2 Worst: Nick Diaz looked like he didn't want to be there
Coming into this fight, Nick Diaz seemed disinterested and anxious, and he was quick to admit the same. But the eccentricity of the Diaz brothers led to a false hope that that's just how he is, and that he'd become the relentless warrior he usually is after the opening ball.
But Nick Diaz was a beaten man even before he entered the octagon. The concerning picture of him shadowboxing during the pre-fight promos became a reality as Diaz tried to survive right from the first minute. What he lacked in speed he made up for with crazy volume, but he just didn't have anything in him by the time the fight reached the third round.
A right hook from Robbie Lawler sent Diaz plummeting to the canvas, and after 'Ruthless' asked his opponent to get up, the Stockton native decided he didn't want to. This performance would've been severely criticized had it been turned in by any fighter not named Nick Diaz.
While the 38-year-old will always have fans tune into his fights, it's clear that it's not a question of rust. Diaz is way past his fighting prime and, more importantly, doesn't seem to have the desire to compete anymore. His interviews have suggested that he's going through a tough phase in his life, and in an ideal world, he should never fight in the UFC again because he'll only accumulate more damage.
#1 Best: Alexander Volkanovski comes up with a career-defining performance
Alexander Volkanovski is finally going to get the respect he deserves. That shouldn't be hard for a man riding a 20-fight win streak, but 'The Great' has been overlooked by several UFC fans.
Everything changed at UFC 266 as a side of Volkanovski that hadn't been seen before made itself known. Caught in two dangerous submission attempts midway through the fight, the featherweight champion showed immense toughness and heart to lay a beating on Brian Ortega.
Volkanovski's blinding speed, immense cardio and pristine usage of angles were on display against Ortega as he fought a smart fight against one of the most dangerous featherweights right now. Although 'T-City' had his moments in the striking exchanges as well, the Australian's pressure and timing were simply too much.
Now with 10 UFC wins, Volkanovski could rule over the featherweight division for years to come, just as he says he will.
