Featherweight fighter Brian Ortega will fight Diego Lopes in the main event at UFC 306. The two athletes were initially meant to fight in a featherweight bout at UFC 303 in June but had to drop to lightweight due to a weight cut.
Like many fighters who weight cut, it is difficult, if not nearly impossible, and it proved the same for Ortega. Ortega could not make the featherweight cut, so the fight was changed to a lightweight match. However, on the day of the event, Ortega dropped out of the match due to an illness. He was replaced with Dan Ige.
During a media round for UFC 306 on Wednesday, Ortega spoke with reporters about his feelings on the night of his withdrawal.
”I don’t know how to explain it. All I know is that I was 178, I got here, and I was already in like 60-something so I was already going through it. I was just surviving. I was in survival mode. Also, I was just trying to get through the day, get the sweat that I had to get in and still try to figure out a way. And I was just stressed.”
”I just wasn’t there. Even on the day of the fight, I don’t know if you ever been sick before… you don’t have the energy to leave the bed. Like, just to go to the restroom. It’s like ugh, that’s where I was, and then I have a whole arena waiting for me to go fight. I’m like no way. I can barely make it to the restroom right now.”
The 155-pound fighter fell ill and had to withdraw. He claimed it was one of his lowest moments as the sickness was sudden.
“I was staying in the hotel room, and we [watched the fights on TV],” Ortega explained. “I was laying in bed and I saw his fight and I was like, ‘Damn, that should have been me.’ But I also thought, ‘Well, come on, bro. Had that been you that night, you probably wouldn’t have won, the way you were feeling.’ Let’s just be honest. But it was a bittersweet moment. Knowing I was there, almost made the weight, and we went through what we went through.
“I didn’t really want to pull out, but you have to make a choice. We made peace with it, and that was it. But yeah, I had those feelings that we could have got this done with and moved on to the next.”
Regardless of this, Diego Lopes is still open to fighting with Ortega. The Brazilian fighter asked ‘T-City’ to rebook the fight, to which Ortega agreed.
“I wasn’t reluctant at all,” Ortega said. “I have a fire lit underneath me because of what happened before. And I got to do the whole weigh-ins, got to face off —. We went through the motions and we started the story but we never finished it. Saturday we finish it finally. I don’t want to leave anyone with any doubt or anything of how this story ends.”
Although Ortega is ready to do battle with Lopes, this may very well be his last feaatherweight bout. The fighter made his intentions about moving to lightweight division known and was about to make this transition before rebooking with Lopes.
“100 percent,” Ortega said when asked if he was still contemplating a move up to 155 pounds. “Because you’ve got [Ilia] Topuria and Max [Holloway] fighting in October. Then after that you’ve got whatever date they decide next year to fight [Alexander Volkanovski], so it’s like a line to fight for the belt.
“Depending how this fight goes this weekend, it’s going to determine whether the fans believe that I deserve another shot or not. But either or, my goal is to stay busy and if there’s nothing for me in the featherweight division. Then I’ll move up.”
