Brian Ortega should not be ranked in the featherweight top 5: Addressing his recent run of form
Brian Ortega recently issued his response to Ilia Topuria's claim that he, along with all other featherweights in the top five, will not receive a title shot if he beats Alexander Volkanovski this weekend at UFC 298. 'T-City' was defiant, vowing to run through every 145-pounder to force a title fight.
But is that even a realistic scenario given everything that Ortega has showcased throughout his career? He is an all-action fighter with heavy hands, an iron chin, a lion's heart and one of the deadliest submission games in UFC featherweight history. Unfortunately, he has been a highly inactive fighter.
He hasn't had any consistent success inside the octagon since 2018, partly because he has barely fought in the last six years. In fact, he has only fought thrice since 2018. So why on Earth is he still in the top five, especially given his rough patch?
Brian Ortega's questionable run of form
As previously stated, Brian Ortega hasn't had any meaningful success as a fighter in six years. Before Dec. 8, 2018, 'T-City' was undefeated and at the helm of a six-fight finishing streak, including a knockout win over Frankie Edgar and submissions over established UFC contenders like Cub Swanson and Renato Moicano.
Then, he faced Max Holloway, the then-reigning featherweight champion. The pair's bout was nothing short of a historic beatdown, as Ortega absorbed an avalanche of significant strikes, leaving his face too battered and his eye too swollen for the doctor to allow him to come out for the fifth and final round.
Check out Max Holloway teaching Brian Ortega how to block:
Holloway won via TKO, and Ortega was sent home a failure after his first title fight. He seemingly redeemed himself in his subsequent bout with Chan Sung Jung, dominating 'The Korean Zombie' en route to a unanimous decision. But the strength of his win is not what it seemed back then.
Jung went 1–2 in his next three fights before retiring. His only win during that period was against Dan Ige, who is not in the top 10, indicating the level at which 'The Korean Zombie' was operating back then. 'T-City' then went on to suffer another brutal beating, this time at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski.
Despite snatching Volkanovski's neck with two tight submissions—a guillotine choke and a triangle choke, Ortega was on the receiving end of a largely one-sided unanimous decision loss. His subsequent matchup was against Yair Rodriguez and he fared no better.
Check out Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega:
Ortega was pieced up on the feet for most of the bout before an armbar from Rodriguez tore the former's shoulder out of its socket, rendering him unable to continue. He lost via TKO, meaning he now has three losses against fighters in the featherweight top five.
Worse than that, he has no wins over anyone currently ranked in the featherweight top 15. All of his UFC wins, in fact, are over fighters who are retired, unranked, competing in different divisions, or no longer signed to the UFC. Furthermore, of all his UFC wins, only Moicano is ranked at all in any division.
He has done nothing to validate his standing in the division, barely fighting in the last six years. This inactivity isn't helped by how injury-prone 'T-City' appears to be. In fact, he even contemplated retirement due to how crippling his injury woes have become.
Check out Yair Rodriguez's armbar dislocating Brian Ortega's shoulder:
Besides Colby Covington and Conor McGregor until he was finally booted off the lightweight rankings, no one else in the UFC has managed what Ortega has in maintaining a top rank without doing anything to justify it.
With no wins of importance and little activity to speak of, Ortega has no business being in the top five until he proves otherwise. At UFC Fight Night 237 on Feb. 24, he will have his chance to prove just exactly where he stands in the featherweight division, as he faces Yair Rodriguez in a rematch in Mexico City.
against Rodriguez in a rematch.