Brian Ortega 'guarantees' a finish at UFC 306 as he targets move up to lightweight post-Noche
11/09/2024 13:38
Former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega returns to action this weekend on the main card of UFC 306, with his clash against popular Brazilian contender Diego Lopes already expected to be a 'Fight of the Night' contender.
The pair were originally supposed to meet back at UFC 303 in June, with Brian Ortega sadly forced to withdraw from the bout after falling sick only a few hours before the event started – they run it back this weekend at The Sphere.
Brian Ortega 'guarantees' that UFC 306 fight will end in a finish
Brian Ortega vs Diego Lopes, which takes place on the main card of UFC 306 this weekend, is expected to be an absolute barnburner, especially with the iconic 'T-City' promising fans that the fight will end in a viral finish.
"Good luck trying to finish me, many have tried," and many have failed, Ortega told Submission Radio only a few days before his return at The Sphere.
"Someone is going to get finished, I guarantee it… You know me, you've seen me [fight], I either put you on your shield or you put me on mine but I'm not going out on my shield [this time]."
The popular submission specialist last fought in February of this year, earning an impressive third-round arm-triangle choke over the dangerous Yair Rodriguez in Mexico City.
Mexico will once again be a key theme and previewing the Noche UFC, the former featherweight title challenger explained how the intrigue isn't just because he and Lopes represent two of the best 145ers on the planet, but because they are almost mirror images of one another.
"It's like I told everybody, I said that you have someone who refuses to lose on the feet and [someone who] refuses to lose in the standup so when I say that; I bet you don't know which of us I'm talking about.
"That's why this an exciting fight. You get to fight almost like a version of yourself – a tad bit different styles but the same mentality."
- UFC 306: Ortega admits he will 'for sure be distracted' by $17million display when he fights at The Sphere
Yet this could very well be one of Ortega's final fights at featherweight, with 'T-City' already having one eye on the weight class above him.
Brian Ortega says he's already been offered one big name at lightweight
Following a difficult weight cut, Brian Ortega requested that his UFC 303 fight against Lopes be moved to lightweight; Lopes agreed, but Ortega failed to make the walk after succumbing to illness.
Yet that idea of fighting at 155lbs and not draining himself down to featherweight weighs heavy on his mind, confirming that "Future talks are still there about going up to lightweight," after UFC 306 this weekend.
In fact, not only did Ortega reveal that the UFC is aware of his desire to move up, but that they've even pushed back on the idea of him staying at featherweight just to fight down the rankings.
"The last time that I was informed by the UFC, there weren’t really many opponents and fights that they thought were actually interesting for me; they didn't like fights for me at featherweight because – I can't speak for them, they just said 'We don't have a fight for you'.
"I was like 'Well there's some featherweights in the Top 10 who I know aren't busy, are you sure?' They said, 'I know who you're talking about, but we want more for you'… I don't want to wait – mother time is not on my side now. I'm not in my 20s, I can't sit around for a year and waste time."
Ortega reportedly asked the UFC if his next bout could indeed take place at lightweight, to which the promotion offered him a big name, who said yes initially, but eventually declined the fight.
"I said I'll move up a weight class. They threw a name at me, I said yes, they said, 'You're crazy' and I said, 'I know'. Name said yes, name said no, name said yes, name said no – then we got the call to fight Lopes, and now we're here."
Interestingly, Ortega refused to name the fighter who he was meant to face at lightweight as there's "a possibility that it's the one that happens next."
UFC 306, aka Noche UFC, goes down September 14 live from The Sphere in Las Vegas.
