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Brian Ortega is set to take on the Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanavoski at UFC 260 on March 27th. Before that fight though, Ortega was interviewed where he answered questions about his journey to a title shot.
Having only fought twice in the last three years, Ortega has earned the second-place ranking in the Featherweight division. His last victory came against the Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, where Ortega looked sharp and ready for a belt.
However, it wasn't that victory that Ortega credits for his incredible improvements. Instead, Ortega thanks the beating he received from Max Holloway back in 2018, per TMZ Sports. During his UFC bout against Holloway, Ortega was essentially dominated, receiving 244 significant strikes to the head. However, it seems the fighter has learned from the beat down.
“I feel like I’m finally learning how to fight more, ya know. I feel like before, I was kind of just stuck with my old ways, and if it ain’t broken don’t fix it,” T-City said.
Before meeting Holloway, Ortega was undefeated in the UFC. He secured 10 of his victories with either submission or knockout. Ortega claiming he “got stuck in his ways,” makes sense, as he likely felt there was no need to improve. The beating he received from Max Holloway, however, opened his eyes to a new light of learning.
“That was the best thing about it because [losing] showed me that there’s a flaw in your system. So now we have to fix that,” Ortega said. He added … “The fact that you saw and notice that there is a flaw in the system, and luckily I was able to have a team, a new one, surround me and help me kind of cover all those holes, and guide me now on the right track.”
Ortega is back and will have an opportunity to win the belt. However, if he wins, he'll more than likely receive a re-match with Max Holloway as his first title defense. We'll see how it goes during UFC 260, as Ortega vs Volkanovski should be one to remember.
