Brian Ortega responds to Ilia Topuria’s callout - 'You can't use your mouth to come up here'
There seems to be some animosity between the former UFC featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega and Ilia Topuria, an up-and-coming undefeated fighter with an impressive record of 13 wins.
'El Matador' has expressed a desire to face Ortega, whom he considers to be one of the best fighters in the featherweight division.
However, Ortega seems uninterested in the prospect of fighting a young, relatively untested opponent. In fact, he has made some comments suggesting that Ilia Topuria needs to prove himself before he can even be considered a worthy opponent. It remains to be seen whether these two fighters will eventually face off in the octagon, but the tension between them is certainly building.
In an interview with MMA journalist The Schmo 'T City' stated:
"People like Ilia Topuria calling me out constantly, I see it now. I'll gladly humble some one if I have to and once they're on their way up to where I'm at then you can come and join me."
He further added:
"But you can't use your mouth to come up here you know. This is the fighting world can only do so much with the mouth and this time is you're gonna have to fight."
Check out the entire conversation below:
Brian Ortega isn’t too worried about @Topuriailia 👀 https://t.co/rMAvXPCDI1
Ortega is currently the No. 3-ranked player in the featherweight rankings, with a record of fifteen wins and three losses. However, after defeating Frankie Edgar at UFC 222 in March 2018, the 32-year-old has only won one fight.
Bryce Mitchell recounts his UFC 282 loss against Ilia Topuria
At UFC 282, Bryce Mitchell, the No.11-ranked featherweight, suffered his first career loss to Ilia Topuria. Mitchell recently disclosed that he was ill at the time and probably should not have accepted the fight. This revelation suggests that Mitchell was not at his best during the bout and may have performed differently had he been in better health.
During an interview with prominent MMA journalist James Lynch, the Arkansas native stated:
"Just a lot of anger, a lot of resentment, a lot of hatred, a lot of guilt, a lot of desire to get in there and just fu*k sh*t up because I'm really just mad at life right now. I was just really sick. I shouldn't have took the fight, but I can't do anything about it. It just pisses me off, the whole thing does, so if anything it just pissed me off to a whole new level."
He further added:
"You can't really get to the level of anger I'm at without getting your a** beat. You get your a** beat, you get to a whole new level of anger, a whole new level of pissed off, a whole new level of motivation. They say the sport has highs and lows. Well, the low, it's very low and you can't get that low in everyday life."
Check out the entire remarks below: