Brian Ortega goes into UFC 306 having found ‘true richness’

The South Bay featherweight, content 'being a family man and real man,' takes on Diego Lopes on the main card of a historic event at the Sphere in Las Vegas

Sep 14, 2024 - 05:55

Brian Ortega goes into UFC 306 having found ‘true richness’

UFC fighter Brian Ortega at the Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center on Monday, Sept. 3, 2024, in Huntington Beach. Ortega will face Diego Lopes at UFC 306: Riyadh Season Noche at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sept. 14, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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When life is going well, liberties are allowed.

Less than two weeks before a marquee matchup against Diego Lopes at UFC 206: Riyadh Season UFC Noche, Brian Ortega can take the time to roll on the mats with two of the toughest members on the Anaheim Ducks’ roster.

Ten days before fighting on an unprecedented card Saturday in the first sporting event at the Sphere in Las Vegas, the South Bay featherweight can also get away for some quality time with his two sons at Redondo Beach.

“This is my recovery right now on a Wednesday,” Ortega said in a video interview Sept. 4 while sitting in the sand. “We’re at the beach, hanging out, digging holes and playing with Super Soakers.”

Part of it is a renewed perspective on life. Ortega has reclaimed his, marrying the mother of his sons and focusing on being a husband and father.

He emerged from a dark period, battling inner demons with alcohol and pills after a public breakup and four surgeries. Free of outside distractions and with his moral compass reset, the newly focused Ortega reconnected with his family and his faith.

“I can lose my job right now, and to me, it doesn’t matter as long as I got them,” Ortega said of his family, which also includes four dogs, two birds, a bird and a new 2-month-old cat.

“I found where true richness is at, and that’s being here with them and being a family man and being a real man and a provider and a leader.”

Part of it is also taking care of himself. Ortega is no longer a spring chicken at 33, but credits his coaches – Tiki Ghosn, Paul Herrera, Mike Saffaie – for giving him “real training.”

Youth and talent carried him for a while. Now, Ortega believes he is in the best shape of his life.

“I’m just an Eveready battery in my 20s, but now it’s like, ‘OK, the battery went down 10%,’ but the amount of technology and information and the team that I have now, they’re very well educated, very well informed on everything,” Ortega said. “These guys are at the top of their tier. So to have them be part of the journey, it’s a blessing. And it’s showing, man, that numbers don’t lie.”

Part of it is also confidence in knowing who he is in the Octagon. Ortega (16-3, 1 NC) is in his 10th year in the UFC. At 33, he has twice fought to become the 145-pound champion, only to come up short against two of the division’s all-time greats. Doctors stopped his first championship fight in late 2018 against Max Holloway. Less than three years later, Ortega almost submitted Alexander Volkanovski before losing via unanimous decision.

“I got my two real losses from just the champs, and even both of those losses is something that, even though it was a loss, that came out as a victory,” Ortega said. “People got to see fully what I have in me and what I’m capable of. Or they’ve seen something about me that resonated with themselves, such as not giving up, showing heart. Although it was a loss, it left an impactful moment for everyone to still talk about it.”

The third loss led to Ortega’s spiral in July 2022 . A shoulder injury in the first round against Yair Rodriguez prematurely ended the fight, spurring two operations on his shoulder and one on each elbow.

Once completely healthy – physically, mentally and emotionally – Ortega took on Rodriguez in a rematch in February in Mexico City, a bucket list bout for the son of parents of Sonoran descent. He went into the fight hoping to have the fans’ support, which shifted in his favor after he submitted the Chihuahua native early in the third round to earn a Performance of the Night bonus.

Most important, though, was the redemption.

“I think people just saw a fight, but there was just so much behind that on my personal side of life that no one will ever understand. Nor is it my business to tell them my business,” he said.

Regarded as one of the elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners in MMA, Ortega recently welcomed the Ducks’ Radko Gudas and Ross Johnston, two of the most notoriously tenacious players in the NHL, to Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center for some tips on grappling.

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“They’re strong, they’re big. Obviously, that’s a different strength,” Ortega said of the 208-pound Gudas and 234-pound Johnston. “Yeah, we did more of basic jiu-jitsu, you know? Like if we’re to get in a fight right now, how would you be able to handle yourself?”

Ortega has shown he is more than capable of handling himself in the cage, finishing seven of his eight UFC victories, four by submission. Lopes, however, also a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, offered that he couldn’t wait to see who had the better jiu-jitsu Saturday.

It might call to mind Jim Croce’s line of not tugging on Superman’s cape, but Ortega took it in stride.

“Let’s get in the cage. You have your opinion, I have mine. Let’s just go in there,” Ortega said. “You know, talking is cool, but you can only prove that as well with action.”

The two were set to square off in a short-notice fight on a hastily rescheduled UFC 303 card June 29, but Ortega fell ill while trying to cut weight and withdrew on the day of the fight. Lopes, meanwhile, accepted an unheard of last-minute, day-of bout with Dan Ige and won a hard-fought scrap.

In doing so, the 29-year-old Brazilian earned Ortega’s adulations. “I gave him a lot of respect as a fighter and as a human being for that, because I know that was not easy,” he said.

Ortega, who has said he might move up to lightweight, admitted he might not be done at 145 pounds. The issue is whether he receives a fight enticing enough to keep him in the division. He finds himself waiting. Ilia Topuria, who dethroned Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February at Honda Center, has a UFC 308 main-event date with Holloway on Oct. 26, as well as a potential rematch against Volkanovski in 2025.

For now, UFC 306 will have to do.

“I just see myself just showing why I am who I am, and where I’m at for a reason,” Ortega said.