Ortega moving up after UFC 303: ‘There’s no title fight for me’ at 145

Enjoy Brian Ortega’s fight against Diego Lopes at UFC 303, because it may be the last time we see “T-City” fighting at featherweight for a while.

Ortega is the latest fighter to step up and help the UFC save a card in crisis after Conor McGregor withdrew from the June 29th card with two weeks’ notice. He’ll face hotshot finish-machine Diego Lopes on the show’s new co-main event.

The bout was a welcome fight for the No. 3 featherweight contender, who is struggling to find a fight — and purpose — at 145 pounds. Because of that, he plans on moving up to 155 pounds for a while after the Lopes fight, no matter what the outcome in Las Vegas.

“They told me my weight class had no one that they wanted me to fight,” Ortega told MMA Junkie in a new interview. “They didn’t really want me to fight contenders and stuff, so I decided to move to 155. [We had an opponent], but I can’t say it. It might still happen. And I hope it does.”

It seems crazy for Ortega to abandon featherweight when he’s right at the top of the division, but he recognizes a title shot logjam when he sees one.

“There’s no title fight for me anytime soon because of what’s going on in the game,” Ortega said. “Max has a guaranteed title shot, and Volkanovski does as well. So even when Topuria does fight, he fights Max. If Max wins, it’s Max vs. Volk 4, which is going to take up to next year. If Topuria wins, then it’s Topuria vs. Volk 2. Then I still have to wait until next year.”

“So when I say the title fight’s not coming anytime soon, it’s just not because of the favors that both of them have done, the leaps and the risks that they both have taken. Volk on two weeks’ notice against Islam [Makhachev], and Max against [Justin] Gaethje, although it was a full camp, he fought for the BMF belt. Both of them, it’s just a lot. Everyone has done a lot.”

“So for me to say that I’m there and deserve it right now, it’s not true,” Ortega concluded. “Selfishly, of course, since I was a kid I’ve been chasing to be a champion. But you have to make peace with reality, and that’s the reality of this game right now. That’s where it’s at, that’s where it’s going, so why not just have fun with my career?”

Ortega vs. Lopes is definitely a fun fight, and a tough one according to the bookies. They have “T-City” a very slight +130 dog to -150 Lopes, which is a bit shocking given their respective resumes. Lopes is young and on a hot streak, having finished his last three fights via first round submission. Ortega is injury-prone and 2-3 over his last five … but those losses came to the absolute best 145 has to offer.

We’re looking forward to seeing how Ortega handles Lopes, and whoever the UFC has in mind for him at lightweight after that.