Brian Ortega fought Aljamain Sterling under inadvisable circumstances. Ortega revealed that he fell unconscious for half an hour while cutting weight for their UFC Fight Night co-main event in Shanghai last month.
Ortega and Sterling agreed to a 153-pound catchweight after Ortega failed to make weight for their Aug. 23 fight. Two weeks later, Ortega revealed just how bad the weight cut was.
“We went downstairs at about eight [o’clock], eight-something, and decided to cut more weight,” Ortega said in an Instagram video. “Put the plastics on, Sweet Sweat, the whole thing. I did 20 minutes on the bike. Once I went off, I went unconscious. I was unconscious for about 30 minutes. During that time, they were putting ice on me. They took all my clothes off and left me in boxers. Woke up in the ER.”
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Brian Campbell
Ortega vs. Sterling was inexplicably approved by the UFC, serving as its own athletic commission. Ortega performed lifelessly, getting swept on the scorecards and averaging 11 significant strikes per round. “T-City” claimed he wouldn’t have followed through with the fight if he felt his health was in jeopardy.
“We figured if I didn’t feel good or if something was seriously off, that we would call the fight,” Ortega said. “No matter who you are, your health comes first; I always stand by that.”
Ortega suggests his friendly relationship with Sterling spurred him to fight through his health concerns.
“Aljamain came to me, and he talked to me, and he said, ‘Hey man, I heard what happened.’ I said, ‘I was under for 30 minutes, I ain’t going to lie to you. We have the same manager, I know he told you. I’m here, I’m trying and I’m going to show up.’ He said, ‘They already have a replacement fighter, don’t worry about it.’ But I told him, ‘No, I don’t want to waste your time.’ And I showed up,” Ortega said.
Longtime featherweight contender Ortega, who has toyed with a permanent move to lightweight, admitted he was afraid to fight after going unconscious. For whatever reason, he opted against pulling out, despite Sterling informing him that a replacement fighter was on standby.
“I didn’t feel good,” Ortega said. “I wanted to call it off. I got up and was just walking outside, I almost passed out and fainted. Everything in my body’s telling me not to fight…
“I was afraid, I’m not going to lie. Being unconscious for 30 minutes and then fighting the next day, but I decided to go for it, still. The outcome was what the outcome was.”
