What happened to Brian Ortega after the Max Holloway fight and why was he away from the octagon?
Brian Ortega went into his fight against Max Holloway at UFC 231 as an undefeated fighter. He emerged from it with a newly blemished record. However, it was the series of injuries he suffered that left him out of active contention for a significant amount of time.
A cage-side medic asserted that Brian Ortega would be unable to continue fighting Max Holloway past the fourth round of their 5-round title fight.
The featherweight bout that went down at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto was being overlooked by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport. The governing body handed Ortega a 180-day medical suspension due to the severity of the injuries that he sustained. What's more, he would require a legitimate medical clearance before making his way back to the octagon.
Having endured 290 significant strikes, Ortega and Holloway etched their names in the record books as the most strikes conceded in a single contest. In the aftermath of his fight against Max Holloway, Brian Ortega took to social media in a bid to offer fans an update on his condition:
"Doctor stopped it and I agree. Broken nose and a broken thumb I was willing to die in there. Last night was Max’s night. I’ll be back. Thank you to everyone who’s always believed in me and supported me," wrote Brian Ortega on Instagram.
The Max Holloway loss prompted Brian Ortega to rework his team
Months after his loss to Max Holloway, Brian Ortega opened up about the situation with his team. He admitted that after an extremely long and fruitful association, his team members had "switched up" on him.
“A lot of people switched up, who I thought would never switch up. And the people I thought who’d switch up didn’t switch up. It just goes to show you how crazy this is,” declared Brian Ortega.
Barring long-time coach and personal friend Rener Gracie, Brian Ortega drastically changed his team. Ahead of his fight against 'The Korean Zombie', Ortega moved base to the Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center. Eased without the pressure of building on his winning streak, Ortega went back to the drawing board before taking on Chan Sung Jung.
No hair, no problem! ✂️
Brian Ortega pulls off the reverse Samsom and puts on a 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜 against Korean Zombie to secure a title shot! 👊 https://t.co/oEdBPFcyIB
Whatever 'T-City' did seemingly worked like a charm as he recorded a unanimous decision win against Jung at UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs The Korean Zombie. Ortega will hope to bring the same momentum into his fight against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266.