It’s been nearly 10 months since Brian Ortega suffered a loss to Alexander Volkanovski in his second bid to become UFC champion, and there are still moments from the fight that still haunt him.
In particular, Ortega, 31, looks at the third round when he snatched a guillotine choke that had Volkanovski in serious trouble. He was only seconds from the finish when he took out the submission.
Ortega admitted that the choke was so tight that he had already begun polishing his title belt.
“I sat there and I looked at that tape over and over again, and I go how in the f*** did this man get out of that choke?” Ortega said during UFC Long Island media day. “I was on top celebrating, I’ll be honest with you.
“I had him in the guillotine and was thinking, “I’m going to be a world champion!” I was waiting for tap but it didn’t come. He got out, and I was like s***, this is a tough motherf*****, and then it was like, he’s on top now. OK, he’s pissed.”
Volkanovski began raining down blows on Ortega. But the momentum didn’t completely shift, because seconds later, Ortega attempted another submission. He locked the triangle choke again, and he felt confident that the end was coming.
” The triangle. I thought he was going to escape. “I was like, “F*** me”? Then I thought, “Damn bro, this isn’t my f night or what’s happening .'”
The fight eventually ended in an unanimous decision loss for Ortega. The result forced him to reexamine key issues in his preparation. He thought that he hadn’t been paying sufficient attention to details in his grappling which was his most powerful weapon.
“There were only minor adjustments I made,” he said. There are a few things I need to work on. You stick to what you know and do the things you have to. I think I got a little too comfortable being a jiu jitsu guy and didn’t work as hard on it.
” It’s like I have that bag. Let me work on these other things that I’m not so good at. Let me work on my striking, let me work on other things. Then when it came down to the situation where your bread and butter’s going to get you this fight, I forgot minimal, minor details, and it was a reality check for me. Like, remember where you came from and how you got here
The loss to Volkanovski still stings, particularly because he can rarely avoid constant reminders about the fight. But even in defeat, Ortega learned a lot about himself and took notes from the reigning and defending UFC featherweight champion.
“I’d be lying to you if for the past couple months … every fan reminding you, like, ‘You almost became a champ,’ and I was like, ‘Thanks you f***** d***,'” Ortega said with a smile. You think that I just sit and think about it?” You can trust me. My f ****** self is my only hope.
“Then there’s a part of, stop being a b****. Make the necessary adjustments to make it clear that you are undeniably doing the same thing he is. Let me take his lead. He’s making sure that he’s undeniably the best that there is. That’s what I want to be.
” If I want to be a champion, I have to take a leaf from that man’s handbook. That’s what I’m doing. I’m doing my best to grind, to work as hard as I can to make sure that I’m undeniable.”
On Saturday, Ortega will return for the first time since that loss when he faces Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Long Island.
Volkanovski defeated Max Holloway, the former champion in the UFC 276, trilogy. The featherweight division does not have a single No. 1 contender. That could change after Ortega and Rodriguez square off.
Rodriguez has already stated the UFC has told him he’ll receive a shot at gold with a win. Ortega is expecting the same concession considering the previous meeting with Rodriguez.
“I haven’t personally had anyone come up to me and tell me, ‘You’re going to win and you’re going to get another title fight,’ but looking at how it’s looking, it makes sense,” Ortega said. “Somehow in my career, I’m always in these situations, and to me it’s like, ‘F*** it, let’s go.’
“If the winner of this fight does not get a title shot then that’s what it is. I’m so far the man who’s put the champ in the most trouble. I’m not saying I beat him or nothing, but where he’s had the most difficulty or someone’s who’s dangerous to face him is me. The world saw that.”
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