Brian Ortega Still Planning Lightweight Move After UFC 306

Brian Ortega Still Planning Lightweight Move After UFC 306

Former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega remains locked in on a move up to lightweight. The 33-year-old planned to move up a division after his UFC 303 short-notice fight against Diego Lopes. That failed to happen after he was forced to pull out of the bout on fight day. The pair will now fight at UFC 306 at the Las Vegas Sphere. Still, the bout will likely be his last at 145 pounds as he remains focused on the lightweight division.

Ortega expressed his interest in moving up a division at UFC 306 media day and explained the reasoning behind his decision.

“1000 percent,” Ortega said when asked if lightweight is still his goal. “You have (Ilia) Topuira and Max (Holloway) fighting and then after that, you have whatever date they decide on next year to fight. So it’s like a line to fight for the belt and depending on how this fight goes this weekend it’s going to determine whether the fans believe I deserve another shot or not. Either or, my goal is to stay busy and if there is nothing for me in the featherweight division I’ll move up.

Ortega has had two title opportunities at featherweight. In those bouts, he was defeated by all-time greats Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Outside of those fights, he has been sensational in the division. The only other loss in his featherweight tenure came when he suffered a shoulder injury against Yair Rodriguez. In total, he holds a divisional record of 8-3.

A move up a division would be a risk for Ortega. The lightweight division is filled with dangerous fighters and it is unknown how he will fare against bigger competition. At the same time, a few impressive victories could invigorate Ortega’s career and help him work his way to a title fight.

Regardless, Ortega will have his hands full against Lopes at UFC 306. If he can get the victory, that will be his second win of the year and he will move up to lightweight with positive momentum.

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