Brian Ortega is set to finish his story with Diego Lopes in a featured main card fight at UFC 306 this Saturday, after their initial bout was postponed due to Ortega’s weight issues and illness, and he remains open to moving up to the lightweight division depending on the outcome.
Brian Ortega is eager to finish his story with Diego Lopes.
This Saturday, Ortega faces Lopes in the featured main card fight of UFC 306. Originally, they were set to clash at UFC 303 in June, but Ortega struggled with his weight cut. The bout was changed to a lightweight contest the day before the event. Then, on the day of the event, Ortega was forced out due to illness. Instead, Lopes faced Dan Ige on just a few hours’ notice and won via unanimous decision.
On Wednesday, Ortega spoke with reporters at UFC 306 media day, recounting how he felt watching Lopes compete that night.
“I was staying in the hotel room and we [watched the fights on TV],” Ortega explained. “I was laying in bed and saw his fight and thought, ‘Damn, that should have been me.’ But then I realized, ‘Well, come on, bro. Had that been you that night, you probably wouldn’t have won, given how you were feeling.’ Let’s be honest.”
“It was bittersweet knowing I almost made the weight and went through what we did,” he continued. “I didn’t really want to pull out, but you have to make a choice. We made peace with it.”
Ortega now has the chance to finish what he started this weekend. After his win over Ige, Lopes called for this fight to be rebooked. “T-City” was all for it.
“I wasn’t reluctant at all,” Ortega said. “I’ve got a fire lit underneath me because of what happened before. We did the weigh-ins, faced off — we started the story but never finished it. Saturday we finish it finally.”
But while this story may end on Saturday, Ortega’s journey will continue. Before the Lopes fight was originally booked, Ortega had discussed moving up to lightweight.
“100 percent,” Ortega confirmed when asked if he was still contemplating a move up to 155 pounds. “You’ve got [Ilia] Topuria and Max [Holloway] fighting in October. Then there’s whatever date they decide next year for [Alexander Volkanovski], so there’s a line for the belt.”
“Depending on how this fight goes this weekend, fans will determine if I deserve another shot or not,” he added. “But either way, my goal is to stay busy. If there’s nothing for me in featherweight, I’ll move up.”
UFC 306 takes place this Saturday at Sphere in Las Vegas, headlined by the bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.