The anticipated clash for the featherweight championship between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega will be postponed for quite a while longer, but it will be worth the wait after an extended, televised buildup.
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is still waiting to make his second title defense after his UFC 260 fight with Brian Ortega was postponed due to COVID-19. He will continue to be waiting for quite a while longer. That is because Volkanovski and Ortega will be serving as the coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter according to ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto.
There is currently no date announced for the start of the new season of TUF or for when the Volkanovski/Ortega bout will take place. Naturally, the fight will occur at the end of the season as is TUF tradition.
The most recent season of TUF took place in 2018 with Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum serving as the head coaches. The bout between the two was scheduled to take place at UFC 234, but Whittaker had to withdraw from the bout at the last minute due to an abdominal hernia. There were long-lasting doubts about whether the program would continue after the success of Dana White’s Contender Series and after the UFC signed a deal with ESPN, but now we have our answer.
Alexander Volkanovski last competed against Max Holloway at UFC 251, where he earned a very narrow split-decision to retain the title. As for Brian Ortega, his most recent fight saw him paint a masterpiece in his fight against The Korean Zombie (Chan Sung Jung) last October.
Keep it locked right here on MMANews.com for updates on the relevant dates connected to the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter and the featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega.