Any pay-per-view with two title fights is going to capture the attention of the sport, but on Saturday night at UFC 266, it’s the third fight on the card that has most fight fans talking. Nick Diaz will walk to the Octagon for his first fight since 2015 to face Robbie Lawler in a rematch 17 years in the making. What can we expect when he returns?
In the main event of UFC 266, Alexander Volkanovski defends the featherweight title against Brian Ortega. The two spent plenty of time together during the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, but will that experience impact the outcome? Ortega’s last title fight didn’t go his way — will this time be different?
Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Mike Coppinger, Jeff Wagenheim and Carlos Contreras Legaspi separate what’s real and what’s not ahead of Saturday night’s pay-per-view.
Okamoto: Look, the only answer to this — the real answer to this — is, “I have no idea.” No one does. Diaz wasn’t even that active when he was … active.
Prior to that bogus suspension for marijuana in 2015, which ultimately led to his six-year absence, Diaz had only fought once in the span of 22 months. And when his career was derailed by a — I’ll say it again, bogus — suspension, he veered hard into a civilian lifestyle.
Diaz has not always lived the life of a professional athlete over the past six years. He’s had somewhat of a tortured relationship with fighting in general. He doesn’t love it, but he knows he’s good at it and it’s his means of income. Trying to figure out Diaz’s level of motivation, his reasons for fighting or even his enthusiasm around this return … it’s impossible. And I think that obviously matters a lot, when trying to guess what he’ll look like on Saturday. Because if Diaz doesn’t truly want to be here and he has reservations about being here, that will show.
And if that is the case, then no, we won’t be impressed. We’ll probably say he should never do this again.
I’m genuinely excited and curious about Diaz’s return, but I’m going in with no expectations. This has an equal chance of going really well or really badly.
Brian Ortega will make the most of his second title fight and win
Raimondi: When Brian Ortega first challenged for the UFC featherweight title, against Max Holloway at UFC 231 on Dec. 8, 2018, he was 27 years old and already being dubbed as the UFC’s next golden boy. Ortega was hanging out with actor Robert Downey Jr., getting endorsement deals with high profile companies like Body Armour and — with his good looks, charisma and exciting fighting style — seemed primed to be the promotion’s newest crossover star.
That all hit a speed bump when Holloway beat Ortega by fourth-round TKO. Holloway hit him with everything he had, but Ortega kept coming until the doctor pulled the plug before the fifth round. Ortega showed a ton of heart, but he also showed he wasn’t quite ready yet to become champion. And perhaps those lofty expectations were too much, too soon.
It is no longer too soon for Ortega, which is why I’m saying “real” to this statement. He’s 30 years old and going into this next title challenge, against Alexander Volkanovski on Saturday at UFC 266 in Las Vegas, like a new man. He’s changed up his coaching staff. His striking game has improved drastically. Ortega really showed marked growth in his unanimous decision win over rival “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung last October. It was arguably the best performance of his career, a fight he controlled from the opening bell.
In four consecutive fights from 2015 to 2017, Ortega finished his opponents in the third round. In almost all of those bouts, Ortega was either losing on the cards when he earned the stoppage or had at least lost a portion of the fight. The showing against “Zombie” was a complete one — and actually the only fight to go to decision of his UFC run. Things were never out of Ortega’s hands then. Jung was supposed to be the better striker, Ortega the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist. But Ortega befuddled Jung on the feet with a new southpaw stance and crafty techniques and tactics.
Provided he brings that same style against Volkanovski — combined with his innate finishing ability — we could be talking about Ortega, finally, as UFC champion, nearly three years after he was perhaps prematurely crowned as the future 145-pound king.
Wagenheim: Shevchenko is a 14-to-1 favorite, so it’s a good bet she’ll beat Murphy. But finish her? Let’s look at Shevchenko’s recent history.
The champ has won seven fights in a row, dominating every one of those bouts but alternating between finishes and decisions. The three recent opponents who have gone all five rounds with Shevchenko — Jennifer Maia, Liz Carmouche and Joanna Jedrzejczyk — are all sturdy and resilient. So is Murphy. In 19 career fights, she has never been finished. Then again, Murphy has never been locked inside a cage with Valentina Shevchenko.
Murphy has won five straight and been in a bunch of competitive fights. Half of her most recent wins have come by split decision. I don’t expect her to put up a close fight against Shevchenko, but survive she can.
If I were a betting man, I’d hate to spend 25 minutes holding my breath while hoping for a Shevchenko’s opponent to merely make it to the final horn so I could cash a ticket. But that’s where my money would be. The above statement is not real.
The main event will not be the most exciting fight of the night
Legaspi: Anyone who still thinks that the only chance for Ortega to beat Volkanovski is by submitting him is really wrong. The rivalry between this two fighters has grown for almost a year, and the fact that it was postponed and their time on The Ultimate Fighter only added fuel to that fire.
Ortega is coming off a striking clinic against one of the best in the division — and was gutsy enough to try the same in his first title fight against the self-proclaimed best boxer in the UFC, Max Holloway. Let’s not forget he was also the first one to knock out Frankie Edgar. Ortega probably has the best jiu-jitsu in the top of the featherweight division, but he barely tries to take down his opponents.
This fight could certainly play out as a long stand-up confrontation, because Volkanovski doesn’t want to risk it on the ground. So for me, this fight is likely to deliver a lot of excitement, and for that reason I’m going to say it’s “not real.” I can’t deny that the fans will go wild when Diaz steps inside the Octagon after his layoff, but it’s really hard to tell how competitive this rematch is going to be 17 years later.
There are many other fights that look promising, though. If Dan Hooker makes it for this week’s matchup against Nasrat Haqparast after days of dealing with visa issues, he will recover his spot among title contenders, provided he has a big performance. There’s also Merab Dvalishvili, who will try to make a statement by finishing an opponent for the first time in the UFC. He’ll have to do that against someone who loves to exchange in Marlon Moraes.
Coppinger: A takedown (or 10) certainly would help Blaydes’ efforts. After all, the NCAA wrestler is a far better grappler than his opponent. If Blaydes can control Rozenstruik on the ground — and along the cage — he can neutralize his foe’s awesome power and avoid the kind of shot that flattened him in his most recent loss to Derrick Lewis.
In Blaydes’ last win, a unanimous decision over Alexander Volkov, Blaydes scored 14 takedowns while allowing just one. His losses to Lewis and Francis Ngannou both featured exactly zero takedowns.
But Blaydes’ finish of Junior Dos Santos was also a stand-up affair, so Blaydes doesn’t need have to rely on his wrestling game to win. So for this fight, at least, I’ll say, “not real.”
If Rozenstruik is going to spring the upset, he surely needs to avoid being dominated on the ground. His takedown defense has proven formidable, with Rozenstruik able to avoid 80% of attempts.
Rozenstruik, a former kickboxer, is the more dangerous striker and loves to keep the fight on his feet. In fact, he’s never recorded a takedown in his eight fights in the Octagon. All of his wins have come via KO/TKO, with his two losses coming against the two best heavyweights in the world (Ciryl Gane and Ngannou).
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Blues forward Jordan Kyrou was a healthy scratch for Thursday night’s game at Buffalo as St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery tries to spark improvement from his struggling team.
The Blues are 1-6-2 in their past nine games and entered Thursday in 15th place in the Western Conference with a 4-9-2 record. St. Louis followed a 3-2 win at home against Edmonton with a 6-1 road loss at Washington on Wednesday night.
Montgomery held a mandatory morning skate before playing in the second game of a back-to-back Thursday in Buffalo.
“If you have competitive fire in your belly, struggles like this provide opportunities to grow stronger together when you face these again,” Montgomery said after the practice.
Kyrou is tied for second on the Blues with eight points in 14 games and has led the team in goals in each of the past three seasons. Kyrou has not recorded a point in his past five games. This is the first time in five seasons that the 27-year-old winger has been a healthy scratch. He has 154 goals and 340 points in 430 NHL games.
Alexandre Texier replaced Kyrou at right wing on the Blues’ top line.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Former LSU coach Brian Kelly shared a statement on social media to fans Thursday, a little more than a week after he was fired in the fourth season of his 10-year, $100 million contract.
“The journey began with great expectations with my own vision of how to get there,” Kelly said. “Sometimes the journey does not end the way we hope.
“But when I think of our time together, I will remember and appreciate what we did accomplish. … The roar of Death Valley when we beat Alabama. The losses will always hurt, but I will remember all the wins.”
Kelly was 34-14 with the Tigers over three-plus seasons, helping them reach the 2022 Southeastern Conference title game. They didn’t qualify for the College Football Playoff in his first three seasons and were virtually eliminated from contention with his last loss.
LSU has won three national titles this century — in 2003, 2007 and 2019. The most recent came under Kelly’s predecessor, Ed Orgeron.
Kelly called it a privilege to coach exceptional student-athletes, among them 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and 39 SEC Academic Honor Roll players in 2024.
Associate head coach Frank Wilson is the team’s interim coach for the rest of the season.
The Tigers (5-3, 2-3 SEC) host No. 7 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC) on Saturday in their first game since Kelly was fired.
“As everyone heads on their way to see the Tigers play, I wish Coach Wilson, the coaches and our players the best this weekend,” Kelly said.
LSU ousted Kelly and athletic director Scott Woodward amid criticism from Gov. Jeff Landry.
The day of Kelly’s firing, Landry said he hosted a meeting in the governor’s mansion on the evening of Oct. 26 “to discuss the legalities of the contract.” Landry had said he was concerned his state would be on the hook to pay for Kelly’s buyout, which is about $54 million.
Days after Kelly’s firing, Landry told reporters that Woodward would not select the next coach. The next day, LSU cut ties with Woodward.
The 64-year-old Kelly has gone 200-76 in Division I since being hired by Central Michigan in 2004. He was 113-40 at Notre Dame and had 34-6 mark at Cincinnati. Kelly was 118-35-2 at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, winning two Division II national titles during a run of three straight trips to the championship game.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell will return to lead the Badgers in 2026, athletic director Chris McIntosh announced on Thursday.
With the Badgers 2-6 overall and winless in Big Ten play, McIntosh is informing the Wisconsin team on Thursday that Fickell will return as head coach next year. The return will come with changes, which include increased investment in the roster and program, along with an ongoing analysis of every facet of the program.
“Chancellor [Jennifer] Mnookin and I are aligned on significantly elevating investment in our program to compete at highest level,” McIntosh told ESPN. “We are willing to make an investment in infrastructure and staff. As important is our ability to retain and recruit players in a revenue share and NIL era.”
In three seasons at Wisconsin, Fickell has gone 15-19. Along with supporting Fickell, McIntosh pledges to support the program more financially to return the Badgers to contention in the Big Ten.
“If Wisconsin is going to be as competitive as we expect, the support has to be as competitive,” McIntosh said. “There’s no getting around it. Our people, our fans are passionate about Wisconsin football. I’d have it no other way. A successful football program is important to university, the state and our lettermen.”
Fickell’s deal runs through the 2031 season. If he were to have been fired this year, he’d have been owed more than $25 million. (The one-year extension in the offseason did not impact the size of Fickell’s buyout.)
“This season has caused us all to have to look from within,” McIntosh said. “Luke has had to do that. I’ve had to do that. He has a willingness to be better. So do I, and so does Wisconsin from an institutional perspective.”
There’s optimism at Wisconsin that with college football settling into the revenue share and NIL era, the school will be better positioned because of the school’s traditional success in attracting corporate partnerships. Those can translate to NIL deals, in addition to the revenue share available to all schools.
“Our intention is to be, in terms of our investment, on par with those that we intend to compete with,” McIntosh said. “Our expectations are to compete at the highest level in the Big Ten and beyond.”
Wisconsin has lost six straight games. The Badgers host No. 23 Washington on Saturday afternoon and finish the year at No. 2 Indiana, home against Illinois and at Minnesota. The 37-0 loss to Iowa at home earlier in the year marked the program’s first home shutout since 1980.
Fickell’s tenure — and this season in particular — has been hallmarked by major injuries at quarterback. This season’s starting quarterback, Billy Edwards, got injured early in the season opener and hasn’t contributed significantly since.
Overall, the quarterback health can be summed up by Fickell’s team having the intended first-string quarterback play the entire game in just 11 of 34 games. The Badgers have endured consistent injury issues this year, including being down eight projected starters at Oregon.
That has left Wisconsin playing backup Danny O’Neil and third-stringer Hunter Simmons, and the Badgers have the No. 17 passing offense in the 18-team Big Ten (only Iowa is worse.) That lineup has gone up against a schedule with four teams ranked in the top 10 and seven of the top 25 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.
McIntosh said the same traits that made Fickell a celebrated hire remain.
“He has the vision and fire to do it,” McIntosh said. “The same things that made Luke Fickell a unanimously great hire in 2022 remain. He’s a winner, program builder and developer of talent, and he understands the Big Ten.”
Fickell won an average of 10.6 games per season in his final five years at Cincinnati. That included leading the Bearcats to the four-team College Football Playoff in 2021, the first team from outside a power conference to reach the College Football Playoff.
Fickell also brought extensive Big Ten experience, as he had spent 15 years coaching at Ohio State. That included a stint as interim coach in 2011 and his work as co-defensive coordinator on Ohio State’s 2014 national title team.
He’ll get a chance to reset the trajectory at Wisconsin in 2026.
“We all acknowledge this is short of expectations,” McIntosh said. “We have identified the ways in which we need to be successful, and we have a plan to be successful. We are executing that plan.”
