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It’s been almost 10 months since Brian Ortega suffered a loss to Alexander Volkanovski in his second bid to develop into UFC champion, and there are nonetheless moments from the battle that also hang-out him.
Specifically, Ortega, 31, seems to be on the third spherical when he snatched a guillotine choke that had Volkanovski in deep trouble. As he locked up the submission, he appeared mere seconds away from a end.
The choke was so tight, Ortega admits he’d already began sharpening his title belt.
“I sat there and I checked out that tape over and over, and I’m going how within the f*** did this man get out of that choke?” Ortega mentioned throughout UFC Lengthy Island media day. “I used to be on high celebrating, I’ll be trustworthy with you.
“I used to be in there, and I had him in that guillotine, and I used to be like, ‘I’m about to be a world champ!’ I used to be simply ready for the faucet, and it by no means got here. He bought out, and I used to be like s***, it is a robust motherf*****, after which it was like, he’s on high now. OK, he’s pissed.”
Volkanovski started raining down blows on Ortega. However the momentum didn’t utterly shift, as a result of seconds later, Ortega tried one other submission. This time, he locked up a triangle choke, and as soon as once more he was assured the top was close to.
“The triangle, I used to be like, ‘T-Metropolis by T-Metropolis,’ after which he escaped,” Ortega mentioned. “I’m like, ‘F*** me, proper?’ Then I used to be like, ‘Rattling, bro, this isn’t my f****** evening, or what’s happening.’”
The battle finally resulted in an unanimous choice loss for Ortega. The outcome pressured him to reexamine key points in his preparation. Most notably, he thought maybe he had not been paying sufficient consideration to element to his grappling, which prior to now was at all times his strongest weapon.
“There are simply minor changes that I missed,” he defined. “Small issues that I’ve to re-work on. As a fighter, you keep on with your bread and butter and also you do issues, and since I’ve been referred to as a jiu-jitsu man, I type of bought snug with it, and I didn’t prepare it as laborious as I used to.
“It’s like nicely, I’ve bought that within the bag. Let me work on these different issues that I’m not so good at. Let me work on my placing, let me work on different issues. Then when it got here right down to the state of affairs the place your bread and butter’s going to get you this battle, I forgot minimal, minor particulars, and it was a actuality test for me. It’s like, don’t overlook the place you come from and what introduced you over right here.”
The loss to Volkanovski nonetheless stings, significantly as a result of he can hardly ever keep away from fixed reminders in regards to the battle. However even in defeat, Ortega realized lots about himself and took notes from the reigning and defending UFC featherweight champion.
“I’d be mendacity to you if for the previous couple months … each fan reminding you, like, ‘You virtually turned a champ,’ and I used to be like, ‘Thanks you f***** d***,’” Ortega mentioned with a smile. “You don’t suppose I sit there and give it some thought? Belief me, I do know. I’ve bought to dwell with my f****** self.
“Then there’s part of, cease being a b****. Go in there and make the changes and ensure you’re plain the way in which he’s doing proper now. I’ve bought to take a web page off of his e book. He’s ensuring that he’s undeniably the very best that there’s. I must develop into that.
“If I need to develop into a champ, I must steal a web page off that man’s e book, which on the subject of that mentality, you need to be plain. That’s what I’m doing. I’m doing my finest to grind, to work as laborious as I can to ensure that I’m plain.”
On Saturday, Ortega will return for the primary time since that loss when he faces Yair Rodriguez in the principle occasion of UFC Lengthy Island.
With Volkanovski vanquishing former champion Max Holloway for the third time of their trilogy at UFC 276, the featherweight division doesn’t have a clear-cut No. 1 contender. That would change after Ortega and Rodriguez sq. off.
Rodriguez has already said the UFC has told him he’ll receive a shot at gold with a win. Ortega expects the identical concession, particularly contemplating his earlier encounter with the champ.
“I haven’t personally had anybody come as much as me and inform me, ‘You’re going to win and also you’re going to get one other title battle,’ however taking a look at the way it’s trying, it is smart,” Ortega mentioned. “By some means in my profession, I’m at all times in these conditions, and to me it’s like, ‘F*** it, let’s go.’
“In relation to this battle, if whoever wins does get a title shot, that’s what that’s. I’m up to now the person who’s put the champ in probably the most hassle. I’m not saying I beat him or nothing, however the place he’s had probably the most problem or somebody’s who’s harmful to face him is me. The world noticed that.”
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