"That's the type of human you are" - Brian Ortega responds to Alexander Volkanovski pulling out of UFC 260 title fight
Brian Ortega responded via Instagram after his UFC 260 bout against Alexander Volkanovski was cancelled due to COVID-19 policies. The UFC made the announcement during the broadcast at UFC Vegas 22 on Saturday night, stating that the fight would remain in place for a date in the future. Alexander Volkanovski confirmed the news immediately afterwards by posting a message on Twitter.
While Brian Ortega might have lost his title shot for the time being, he has only respect for the UFC featherweight champion. 'T-City' took to Instagram amidst the recent development to show his respect to Volkanovski. According to Brian Ortega, we have only limited agency and must accept things beyond our control. In the Instagram video, Ortega also confirmed that he is up for the fight whenever it is meant to happen. Wishing Volkanovski a speedy recovery, Ortega said-
"I know you would have took the fight no matter what, even with COVID. That's the type of human you are. I respect that. I hope you get better, I hope you heal up fast. … Some things are out of our control. We'll postpone it and we'll just reschedule it [when] we got to. Stay sharp, we're staying sharp. Whenever this s--- is meant to happen, it'll happen."
Brian Ortega has only one loss in the UFC
Brian Ortega lost his title shot to Max Holloway at UFC 231 where 'The Blessed One' delivered a stellar performance, landing his then career best 290 significant strikes. Holloway succesfully defended his title against Brian Ortega as the ringside doctor stopped the fight in the fourth round, finding Ortega unfit to continue.
Since his lone career loss, Brian Ortega had to spend two years away from action due to a knee injury. Ortega returned to the Octagon last year against Chan Sung Jung and picked up a lopsided win which earned him another title shot.