The next fight for the UFC featherweight title is scheduled.
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovksi will defend the title against Brian Ortega at UFC 260, which will be held at a venue to be announced.
Two people with knowledge of the confrontation confirmed the reservation for MMA Junkie on Saturday, but requested anonymity, as the promotion has not yet been officially announced.
The news was first reported by the UFC broadcast partner ESPN, who also reported that the promotion aims for Volkanovksi (22-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) vs Ortega (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) to be the main co-event for a heavyweight title rematch UFC between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou.
The pay-per-view event is scheduled to take place on March 27 and will be the second event of the promotion in March, with UFC 259 taking place three weeks earlier.
Volkanovski, 32, is putting together a 19-game winning streak in his second UFC title defense attempt. After six consecutive wins to begin his UFC management, Volkanovski defeated then champion Max Holloway via unanimous decision at UFC 245 in December 2019.
Seven months later, at UFC 251, in July 2020, Volkanovski and Holloway fought for the second time. Volkanovski successfully defended his title for the first time by defeating Holloway by split decision.
In October, Ortega, 29, returned from a 22-month absence from competitions. Over five rounds, Ortega dominated contender Chan Sung Jung by unanimous decision and re-entered the winning column after a devastating title dispute loss to Holloway in December 2018.
In addition, UFC 260’s schedule includes:
Champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for UFC featherweight title Jim Crute vs. Johnny Walker Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk