Brian Ortega Talks Saving UFC 303, ‘Makes Me Feel Alive Again’

Brian Ortega stepped into the UFC 303 co-main occasion on two weeks’ discover … and a few have known as the choice reckless and probably expensive for the MMA star. So, why’d T-Metropolis settle for the struggle? TMZ Sports activities requested him.

“At this point it just becomes about having fun with my career. Taking the craziest fights now, and this is one of them, right?” 33-year-old Ortega instructed us.

“Two weeks notice, save 303, checklist. That’s something that gets me excited, gives me nerves. Makes me feel alive again. Makes me feel like a young up-and-comer.”

After all, 303 was flipped on its head after headliner Conor McGregor was compelled out with an damage. With an enormous gap on the prime of the cardboard, Dana White went to work … inking Ortega and 29-year-old Diego Lopes, the 14th ranked 145 lb. fighter to a co-main occasion scrap (Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka at the moment are the primary).

Apart from Ortega and Lopes being two of the very best fighters on the planet, Brian says it is a “dope” matchup ‘trigger each are high-level Jiu-Jitsu gamers.

“It’s very rare where I get to fight someone who I have to be cautious of that can submit me,” Ortega stated. “Every time you see me fight, you never think, ‘Okay, Brian is gonna get submitted.’ Now this that fight that you can.”

After we spoke to Brian, there was a serious growth. As a substitute of being fought at featherweight, it’s going to now be contested at light-weight … after Ortega was struggling to make weight (he beforehand deliberate to maneuver as much as 155 lbs. earlier than accepting this struggle).

As for the place he goes after the Lopes struggle, Ortega admits he is in a little bit of a bizarre spot in the case of securing one other title struggle.

“There’s so much things going on with [Ilia] Topuria, Max [Holloway], and [Alexander] Volk[anovski] it’s a big trio up there right now. I’m just a little bit down, but I’m a little above the contenders. So I’m in my own weird lane.”

There’s far more with Brian … together with whether or not he was ever approached to struggle Michael Chandler as soon as McGregor dropped out.