Brian Ortega proved the doubters wrong in his latest fight that took place at UFC 222.
As seen in the co-main event of Saturday’s (March 3, 2018) UFC 222 event on pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ortega scored a big victory over former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
For those who may not remember, this wasn’t the original fight slated for this pay-per-view event. Max Holloway pulled out of the scheduled featherweight title fight in the main event.
This led to the UFC scrambling to find a new main event and a new opponent for Edgar.
This led to Conor McGregor claiming that he offered to step in against Edgar at the event.
However, the promotion decided against booking that fight because they didn’t have enough time to promote the fight in order to get the most revenue out of a fight involving McGregor. Thus, Ortega was the chosen one.
“I took my time in trying to finish him,” Ortega explained of the sequence (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting). “I knew he was rocked, and when I saw that opportunity to throw an uppercut, I threw it with bad intentions. I don’t want to have bad intentions, but when I’m in there, I had bad intentions when I threw that one — and it landed right on the dot.”
“The way I looked at it was, let me see what this guy’s going to bring to the table real quick, let me try to figure out his plan,” Ortega said at UFC 222’s post-fight press conference. “He came in, he was sticking, he was moving.
I didn’t see him trying to wrestle so I put some pressure on him, then once I really relaxed in there, then I started throwing my shots and landing them, and I was just figuring my own self out. And once I did, that was it.”
Many people believed going into this event that the winner would fight Holloway. Now, White confirmed on Saturday night is the promotion’s plan moving forward. Ortega is on a good run as he is on a six-fight win streak that features wins over Cub Swanson, Renato Moicano, Clay Guida and more.
The belief is that the UFC will book Holloway vs. Ortega for the featherweight title at UFC 226 on July 7 at International Fight Week.
“I’ve always said it, and maybe the way I fight doesn’t really show it. I feel like you really have to be in there with me to feel the way I am,” Ortega said. “And I said: Pick your poison. We can bang it out or we can go to the ground, I’m comfortable either way and I feel like no matter what happens in the fight, I’ll be alright.”
What are your thoughts on the promotion booking this potential fight? Sound off in the comment section below.
