Brian Ortega draws inspiration from the movie Troy for his rivalry with Alexander Volkanovski ahead of TUF 29
Brian Ortega is coaching the comeback season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. TUF has been home to various incidents that eventually led to bad blood amongst fighters. However, 'T-City' made his approach towards the reality show very clear.
In an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Brian Ortega gave his take on the way he feels he should conduct himself based on his learnings from the movie 'Troy'. Ortega said:
"We are both [Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega himself] in the same boat right now. You wanna fight, I wanna fight. You want to defend yours, I want to take yours. But it doesn't mean that you still can't have respect for one another, you know? I think that movie, Troy, right? When the guy snuck into Achilles' room. And then Achilles is like, 'You're my enemy. You're still my enemy in the morning', and the guy is like, 'You're still my enemy now.' He goes, 'Just because we are enemies does not mean we can't have respect.' And that stuck with me. It's a movie, but still. Alright, it's the same thing. I'm still gonna fight you. We're still gonna go for it. I still want what is yours. You want to defend it. But, let's have some fun right now. Right now, turn that switch off. We don't have to fight each other right now. Turn it off. I am going to turn it off."
Brian Ortega details when "the switch gets back on" against Alexander Volkanovski
Brian Ortega believes that the competitive rivalry should only come out once it is time to prepare for the actual fight. According to Alexander Volkanovski, his title defense against Brian Ortega could likely take place in early September.
However, until such time, Brian Ortega is only interested in knowing the kind of human that 'The Great' Alexander Volkanovski is. 'T-City' said:
"I'm gonna f**k with you more on a competitive side, a team side, like a human side. And then, when I train for you, you know, once the show is done, we go back home and we train for each other, that's when the switch gets back on. But right now, I just get to see what you are as a human. For five weeks. So, let's see what you're about."
Do you think Brian Ortega will be able to strip Alexander Volkanovski of featherweight gold? Let us know in the comments!
Please take 30 seconds to answer this survey so that we can better understand how to serve your MMA needs.