Brian Ortega’s sensational comeback performance at UFC Mexico was nearly derailed by a nasty injury he sustained just weeks before the fight.
“T-City” ended a layoff of over a year and a half when he met Yair Rodriguez in a rematch in Mexico City last weekend. After weathering an early storm, the 33-year-old avenged the first meeting by securing an arm-triangle choke in the third round.
There was a stressful moment before the fight started when Ortega rolled his ankle during the introductions, but now his coach Rener Gracie has also revealed that a nasty cut sustained in training nearly kept his fighter from competing at UFC Mexico.
Ortega’s first fight with Rodriguez ended in disappointment when a submission attempt caused a shoulder injury that ended things in the first round, and following that loss it’s no surprise that “T-City” wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of his return to the Octagon.
A two-time challenger for the UFC featherweight belt, Ortega’s win over Rodriguez put him at #3 in the division’s rankings following a major shakeup when Ilia Topuria knocked out longtime champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.
Topuria dismissed the idea of facing contenders like Ortega or Max Holloway before he won the belt from Volkanovski, but perhaps “T-City” might get another crack at featherweight gold depending on the result of Holloway’s BMF title bout with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
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