Brian Ortega has spoken out following his UFC 306 loss to Diego Lopes.
Going into the big pay-per-view event this past Saturday night, many were wondering if Ortega’s experience would be too much for the rising Lopes to handle. As it turns out, the Lobo Gym MMA standout was more than ready for the step up in competition.
Lopes hurt “T-City” early and battered his eye. Ortega has certainly seen better days inside the Octagon and he fell short here via unanimous decision. Now that the smoke has cleared, Ortega has issued a statement on suffering the third loss in his last four fights.
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Brian Ortega Remains Positive Following Loss to Diego Lopes
Brian Ortega hopped on his Instagram account to issue a statement on being unable to halt the momentum of Diego Lopes at UFC 306 inside the Sphere in Las Vegas.
“Above all God is great,” Ortega wrote. “I’m grateful to be surrounded by people who love me. You have good days in the office and today was a bad one. Tonight wasn’t my night [it] was his. Life keeps going.”
Ortega will slide down the official UFC featherweight rankings once they are updated. He was the number three-ranked 145-pounder going into Noche UFC, while Lopes held the number 13 spot. That figures to be a significant shift in the featherweight division.
One has to wonder just how close Lopes is to receiving a title opportunity. Ilia Topuria will put his gold at stake against Max Holloway in October. Alexander Volkanovski is expecting to get the winner of that fight.
Perhaps Lopes is due for a title eliminator if the UFC matchmakers wish to give Volkanovski another championship fight. With that said, availability is key in the world of MMA and perhaps Lopes could find himself fighting for gold sooner than expected.
