"The UFC's got a man right here" - Brian Ortega opens up about potentially fighting Ilia Topuria for featherweight title next
UFC featherweight contender Brian Ortega is keen on fighting the divisional champion, Ilia Topuria.
In an interview with Kanpai Media, Ortega mentioned that he has been training hard since his last outing against Yair Rodriguez and is ready to take on a fight. Ortega defeated the Mexican in their rematch at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Royval 2 via a third-round submission.
He said:
"I’m training my a** off. I’m happy I didn’t have to get surgery or I wasn’t severely injured in this fight so I went right back to work. I’m still working."
Ortega then addressed a potential title fight against Topuria if Alexander Volkanovski isn't ready yet, adding:
"Yeah, let’s get it. Let’s get a fight in Spain man, I’m not against it and let’s go. If I could If I could snap my fingers and get the contract and he [Ilia] says yes, and Volkanovski doesn't take that fight... If he says no to them trying to rush him to fight, the UFC's got a man right here, and I'm sharp and I'm ready. Everyone knows, I don't think I've seen a boring fight of mine. I don’t get in boring fights. Either I finish you or you finish me."
In a recent back-and-forth between Max Holloway and Topuria, the Spaniard notably named Ortega as an alternative to the Hawaiian if he refused to put his BMF title on the line.
Check out Brian Ortega's comments on Ilia Topuria:
Max Holloway fires back at Ilia Topuria for comments about loss to Alexander Volkanovski
Max Holloway clapped back at Ilia Topuria for commenting on his trio of losses to Alexander Volkanovski.
Topuria took a dig at Holloway's three losses against Volkanovski and boasted that he only needed two rounds to finish the Australian. In response, Holloway mentioned that he was a younger champion and had already defended his title multiple times at Topuria's age.
'Blessed' also stated that his main aim was always a title shot.
"My main goal was always fighting Ilia. This fight was a fun fight, shout out to Justin Gaethje. Justin Gaethje is a legend... But my mind was always, no matter what, win, lose, whatever it is... I want to fight Ilia... I saw him say slick stuff [that] it took him nine minutes to do what I couldn't do in 90 minutes [beat Volkanovski]. That's funny 'cause last time I checked, when I was your age I already had title defenses, buddy. So it looks like you still got catching up to do."
Check out Max Holloway's comments on Ilia Topuria: