Former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega was asked to take on rising 145-pound challenger Diego Lopez on short notice as part of last weekend's UFC 303 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Las Vegas. The hastily arranged bout was created to fill the co-headline spot left vacant by a last-minute disaster.
Unfortunately for Ortega, who was already planning on moving down to lightweight, the cut to 145 pounds further debilitated him. The organization readjusted the weight to keep “T-City” on the card, but he was not healthy enough to compete at the T-Mobile Arena in “Sin City” on June 29.
what happened?
“He cut 15 days ago, lost over 30 pounds, was debilitated and had a bad fever the last few days,” Ariel Helwani revealed on The MMA Hour after speaking with Ortega's manager. “He couldn't recover and he couldn't eat anything.”
Ortega is gone, and “The Legend” is coming.
Filling in for Ortega was perennial featherweight contender Dan Ige, who came off the bench just two hours before to face Lopez in the co-main event of UFC 303. The action-packed contest ended with the Brazilian winning by unanimous decision, and Ige's last-minute efforts undoubtedly paid off.
A timeline has yet to be set for Ortega's return to the Octagon.
