Despite plenty of controversy throughout his career, UFC featherweight Brian Ortega is undoubtedly a fantastic competitor who is capable of putting on thrilling performances. He hasn’t fought as often as many others have throughout his decade-plus career, but that also means his loss column is much smaller than many other fighters who have been around for as long as him.
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Ortega has received countless fight honors throughout his career and has managed to defeat some of the most legendary names in the UFC. While he has lost before, both losses are against two people that many people would argue are the best of their respective divisions, Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. His career has been full of highlights, so there is a lot to learn about Brian Ortega.
10 Trained By The Gracies
It’s pretty rare for many UFC fighters to begin their training with some of the most respected names in the business, but Ortega found himself in the halls of greatness right from the beginning. He began his training at the age of thirteen thanks to Rorion Gracie.
To be fair, Ortega had previously trained in kickboxing from a young age, but anyone who has tried each discipline knows how vastly different they are. Eventually, Ortega would become a 1st-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - something that has helped him in the octagon.
9 Undefeated For Eight Years
Many of the most famous UFC fighters suffered at least one loss during the early years of their fighting career, but not Ortega. Even with a bout that was turned into a no-contest (a bout he originally won), he managed to go over eight years without a single loss.
Many of those bouts were against some of the best that the UFC had to offer and even included a win over Frankie Edgar. He was finally defeated by Max Holloway, someone who is proving they can hang with any fighter, so he didn’t exactly suffer an upset loss.
8 Debut UFC Bout Was Ultimately Canceled
MMA fans who like to follow the smaller MMA promotions may have been excited to finally get to see how the up-and-coming Brian Ortega could do against the toughest competition. Unfortunately for his fans, his first bout was actually canceled entirely.
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He was originally meant to debut at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 finale, but his opponent had to pull out with an injury only a short while before the bout. That late call left the UFC with no options, and the bout was scrapped entirely.
7 First UFC Bout Was Controversial
When Ortega finally got to make his UFC debut, he looked incredibly impressive, but it quickly became a controversy once the fighter's test results came back. It was revealed that Ortega had an unapproved substance in his body, something that resulted in his victory being overturned.
That one bad decision derailed his debut as he was not only fined, but also banned from competition for nearly an entire year. The controversial nature of that bout is something that Ortega is yet to escape as his opponents have brought attention to it during trash talking.
6 The First Man To Finish Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar is a legendary UFC fighter who became a UFC Lightweight Champion and challenged for the UFC Featherweight Championship multiple times. He had only ever been beaten by judge’s decision, but that all changed when he met Ortega in the octagon.
Ortega managed to knock Edgar out clean in the first round of their bout, something that shocked many UFC fans. That incredible 2018 knockout made Ortega the first man to ever finish Edgar, someone who had been competing in MMA since 2005.
5 Only Losses Earned Fight Of the Night Honors
UFC fans were probably thrilled by the brutal bouts between Ortega and Holloway, and Ortega and Volkanovski, Ortega’s only two losses as of the writing of this article. While he lost those bouts, both ended up being named the fight of the night.
No fighter likes to lose, but every fighter likes to be recognized for everything they put their body’s through. The recognition for the two absolute wars those men went through was probably a decent consolation prize for the two rather high-profile losses.
4 He Finished Six Fights In A Row In The UFC
Whether most people want to admit it or not, everyone wants to see a fight get finished. When a bout ends in the middle of the octagon, there is little question about who is the better person. Unfortunately, clean finishes don’t happen all the time.
While anything can happen when the decision is left to the judges, Ortega seems to want to avoid that since he ended six of his UFC fights in a row. It’s already impressive to finish one fight, but six in a row is something few fighters will ever be able to do.
3 Season Of The Ultimate Fighter Didn’t Go His Way
Most UFC fans are probably aware of the heated rivalry that formed between Ortega and Volkanovski, but unfortunately, Ortega’s The Ultimate Fighter team may have let him down a bit. During the show, Ortega’s team really struggled to win any bouts against Team Volkanovski.
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In both divisions featured on the show, the final bouts saw a member of Team Volkanovski taking on another member of his team, making for a fairly solid defeat of Team Ortega. In a way, the show was a bit of foreshadowing for what would eventually come.
2 Volkanovski Buried Him For His Past PED Use
When it comes to UFC fighter smack-talk, every fighter wants to make themselves as small of a target as possible, while attacking their opponent's most obvious flaws. Unfortunately for Ortega, his biggest mistake was a widely publicized mess for the UFC.
One of the most disrespectful things a fighter can do in the eyes of many is use any kind of performance-enhancing drugs. Because Ortega had popped for using before, Volkanovski made that a major talking point in the lead-up to their exciting title bout.
1 Once Got Into An Altercation With A Famous Translator
Fans of Korean culture will likely know of the wildly popular rapper, Jay Park. That man is a good friend and occasional translator for famed UFC fighter Chan Sung Jung, better known as Korean Zombie. At one time, Jay Park found himself in an unfortunate altercation with Ortega.
A lot of people lost respect for Ortega’s actions as he slapped someone who wasn’t a fighter for what seemed to be a miscommunication above anything else. The entire controversy was an embarrassment for the UFC, and Ortega ended up apologizing for yet another serious lapse in judgment.
