Two title fights set for UFC 260
The UFC’s second PPV event of March will feature two hotly anticipated title fights.
Confirmed by the promotion’s president Dana White during the UFC on ABC 1 post-fight press conference on Saturday, heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will look to defend his title against Francis Ngannou in a rematch of their 2018 clash while the co-main event will see featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will square off against Brian Ortega.
Dana White just confirmed to me at the post-fight press conference that Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2 is a done deal for the #UFC260 main event on March 27.
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) January 16, 2021
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega for the featherweight title has been booked for UFC 260 on March 27, per sources.
The hope is for the fight to serve as co-main for a card headlined by Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 for the HW title, tho, that fight isn't finalized yet, sources say.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 16, 2021
UFC 260 is set to take place on March 27th although the location and venue has yet to be confirmed.
Miocic (20-3) would win the first meeting between himself and Ngannou via unanimous decision before coming out a 2-1 winner in a trilogy of fights with Daniel Cormier. With a 14-3 promotional record, Miocic is currently ranked the #4 male pound-for-pound fighter by the UFC.
Ngannou (15-3) meanwhile has gone 4-1 since their 2018 bout with all four of his victories coming via first-round KO in a combined 162 seconds.
In the night’s second title fight, Volkanovski (22-1) will look to extend his 19-fight winning streak which includes a perfect 9-0 UFC record. The Australian fighter has defeated Max Holloway in back-to-back fights and is currently ranked #6 in the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Ortega (15-1, 1 NC) would earn his second UFC 145 lbs title shot after defeating Chan Sung Jung after a near two-year hiatus from the octagon. After losing to then-champion Holloway in 2018, Ortega would return in October 2020 and decisively bested ‘The Korean Zombie’ in a five-round unanimous decision victory.