Spinning Back Clique: UFC 266 aftermath on Volkanovski-Ortega, Nick Diaz’s return, more
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week, we cover the aftermath of UFC 266 and look ahead to the main event of Bellator 267.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Nolan King and Brian “Goze” Garcia debates and discusses these topics with host John Morgan:
- This past weekend’s UFC 266 saw featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski earn a hard-fought win over a very game Brian Ortega, and it seems like “The Great” is finally getting a little respect as UFC champion. Afterward, he pointed to the upcoming Max Holloway-Yair Rodriguez fight as a potential No. 1 contender matchup, but he also got social media challenges from the likes of Conor McGregor and Henry Cejudo. Not sure how realistic all those options are, but what fight is most intriguing?
- The flip side of that main event was Ortega, who very nearly became UFC champion with a guillotine that looked destined to end the fight in Round 3, but Volkanovski somehow survived the choke and went on to devastate “T-City” with non-stop striking. This makes two title fights now where Ortega has lost after absorbing more than 200 strikes. Simple question: Where does Ortega go from here?
- The UFC 266 co-main event saw Valentina Shevchenko continue her dominance of the UFC women’s flyweight division. Afterward, of course the name Amanda Nunes was brought up in terms of potentially booking the trilogy fight between them. So, is this a fight that needs to happen now?
- Of course, UFC 266 was also very much about the return of Nick Diaz, though the heavily anticipated rematch with Robbie Lawler did have a very anticlimactic ending. It was a crazy week from start to finish, with media day no-shows, an unplanned division change, some head-scratching interviews, and a bizarre result. What was your biggest takeaway from the whole Nick Diaz experience?
- Bellator has a big event this weekend in London, and it features a key headlining rematch between former welterweight champ Douglas Lima and the always entertaining Michael Page. It’s high stakes, but who really has more on the line here?
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.
Spinning Back Clique: UFC 266 aftermath on Volkanovski-Ortega, Nick Diaz’s return, more