UFC 266 is just days away and the overseeing sanctioning body has selected the officials for the two title fights on tap.
For the UFC featherweight title fight between champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (22-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), veteran referee Herb Dean will serve as the third man inside the cage. Judges Mike Bell, Sal D’Amato, and Junichiro Kamijo will be the three cageside judges.
For the co-main event, in which women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will defend her title against first-time challenger [autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC), the referee will be Keith Peterson. The selected judges are Eric Colon, Chris Lee, and Dave Hagen.
The referees involved in the title fights will be paid $2,500, while the judges will each pocket $2,000.
UFC 266 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
- Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Lauren Murphy – for women’s flyweight title
- Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Jessica Andrade vs. Cynthia Calvillo
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Marlon Moraes vs. Merab Dvalishvili
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Dan Hooker
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Chris Daukaus
- Roxanne Modafferi vs. Taila Santos
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Uros Medic vs. Jalin Turner
- Manon Fiorot vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
- Karl Roberson vs. Nick Maximov
- Martin Sano vs. Matthew Semelsberger
- Omar Morales vs. Jonathan Pearce
[vertical-gallery id=390009]
[vertical-gallery id=324412]