Saturday's fight between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopez at UFC 303 may be his final fight at featherweight.
Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), a two-time UFC title challenger at 145 pounds, was already focused on making his lightweight debut at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas even before he was called up for Saturday's bout.
After Conor McGregor withdrew from his International Fight Week main event bout against Michael Chandler, the UFC had to rearrange its lineup for UFC 303. When Ortega was offered the chance to face Lopez (23-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC), he jumped at the chance, even though it meant disrupting his existing plans.
“I told them I would fight at the Sphere on September 14th. That was the only meaningful conversation I had with them (about the future). I said yes. They said yes. We were all excited and it was common knowledge. They said there was no one in my weight class that they wanted me to fight. They didn't want me to fight any challengers. So I decided to move the scales up to 155 pounds. (There were names in the mix), but I can't say. It could still happen, and I hope it will.”
Ortega, ranked No. 7 in the latest USA Today Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, most recently won by third-round submission over Yair Rodriguez in February, a result that seemed to put Ortega closer to a third chance to fight for the featherweight belt, but Ortega isn't convinced.
For current champion Ilia Topuria, the options continue to grow with a showdown with BMF champion Max Holloway and a rematch with former titleholder Alexander Volkanovski looming, and Ortega said his path to fighting for the belt is unclear at best and he has no intention of waiting for the odds to turn in his favor.
That's why the 33-year-old Ortega has decided to move up to 155 pounds for a fresh start, and no matter what happens against Lopez, he believes it's the best move of his career.
“The way the fights are going, there's no title fight anytime soon,” Ortega said. “Max is guaranteed a title fight, and so is Volkanovski. So if Topuria fights, it's against Max. If Max wins, it's Max vs. Volkanovski fourth, and it takes until next year. If Topuria wins, it's Topuria vs. Volkanovski second, and I have to wait until next year. So when I say there's no title fight anytime soon, it's not because of the favor they've done or the leaps and risks they've taken.
“Volk fought Islam (Makhachev) on two weeks notice, Max fought (Justin) Gaethje despite having a full training camp and fighting for the BMF belt. It was just so hard for both of them. They all did so much. So to say I'm up there now and deserve it isn't true. Of course it's selfish. I've been chasing being a champion since I was a kid. But you have to accept reality and that's the reality of the game right now. It is what it is and what's to come, so let's enjoy my career.”
If this is indeed his final featherweight bout, Ortega will be going in with a realistic mindset and preparation. With no formal training camp, Ortega will be at his most natural when he steps into the Octagon at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) — and he's looking forward to it.
“No matter what anyone says, you can't train in two weeks,” Ortega said. “I'm going to be honest with you. I can't train for you for two weeks and you can't train for me for two weeks. You cut weight for two weeks and just go in. You just start fighting. You can watch all the videos you want, but it's never enough. There's never enough time. You don't have time to process anything. You just go in, weigh in and fight. It's just crazy. And I love it. That's how I got to love boxing.”
“Finally, I thought, why not? When was the last time you got excited, nervous, had this feeling and thought, 'Man, this is crazy?' Usually you have two months. You train. You have that guy in your head for two or three months, you know everything about him. You watch the film, you know what doesn't work and what works in each position. But now, for what? Let's just fight. We're fighters.”
For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 303 event hub.
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