UFC featherweight Brian Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) stepped in to fill a vacant co-main event slot after UFC 303 took significant damage in the aftermath of the postponed fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, initially scheduled for Saturday in Las Vegas.
While the card moves forward with neither McGregor nor Chandler, Ortega will take on rising prospect Diego Lopes (24-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who is riding a three-fight winning streak. Ortega, 33, said in an interview with MMAJunkie that after the fight with Lopes, Ortega intends to move up to lightweight.
“We talked about fighting Sept. 14 at Sphere – that’s the only conversation I had with them that made sense,” Ortega said. “I said yes to it. They said yes to it. We all got excited, and that was kind of in the world. They told me my weight class had no one that they wanted me to fight. They didn’t really want me to fight contenders and stuff, so I decided to move to 155.”
Ortega also revealed the promotion had an opponent in mind for him, but chose not to disclose it publicly. At press time, the UFC has yet to comment on Ortega’s official decision, but Ortega also went further as to why he is making this choice.
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With Ilia Topuria likely fighting “BMF” champion Max Holloway next and Alexander Volkanovski potentially returning later this year or in the first quarter of 2025, Ortega said his decision to change divisions was easy. Ortega previously fought for the featherweight title in Sept. 2021, losing to then-champion Volkanovski.
“There’s no title fight for me anytime soon because of what’s going on in the game,” Ortega said.
Ortega mapped out the scenarios surrounding Topuria, Volkanovski and Holloway. He said Holloway and Volkanovski are getting “guaranteed” title fights and they all have to play themselves out, which would leave him in limbo.
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Nevertheless, the 155-pound division will soon have a fresh face, as Ortega is seeking back-to-back wins for the first time in six years by potentially defeating Lopes.
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