Brian Ortega talks fighting Diego Lopes on short notice & his UFC 303 strategy | ESPN MMA Megan Olivi talks with Brian Ortega …
Brian before we get into the matchup itself this one originally scheduled for 145 now taking place at 155 when did you know it was the right moment to make the call and what was that emotion like for you deciding to make the change yeah I mean we we stayed all night uh trying to cut the weight I think we we topped out at 151 and uh I kept trying to push and uh just wasn’t uh the best sight you know uh 30 lbs in in two weeks it’s uh it’s it’s a bit of a lot and uh you know my team called it after a while finally after you know topping out and then they decided to make it to 155 Diego Lopez accepted now has the recovery process been for you how are you feeling now at this point it’s been going good man it’s been going good it’s it was like I said it was a long night so we’re it is what it is you know we just got to recover and then fight you know you’ve had a couple of short notice fights in your career most notably probably Frankie Edgar those short notice fights went your way for you in the preparation for this one there’s not so much time to really game plan for Diego Lopez so how do you approach training for an opponent like him the way I look at it is just like sparring in the gym you know someone new comes in out of town you don’t know them and and they they’re trying to make a name off of you and it’s your gym so it’s let’s go to war and let’s have some fun you know we talk about you guys as Jiu-Jitsu practitioners a lot is there any world where you see like you both on the feet you both possess a lot of power and a lot of skill when it comes to the Striking yeah I mean it’s it’s a you know it’s MMA fight you know we we’ll see if you know if he shoots in or I shoot shoot in uh I think as as the you know the rounds unfold I think we’ll get a better feel for each other and uh we’ll see where this fight takes place yeah when it comes to Pure grappling if you two are on the canvas for all 15 minutes Brian where do you feel like the biggest advantages lie for you there oh man on the ground is is is where I would love to be you know so yeah I love the ground Jiu-Jitsu is is my number one love and and yeah it could be 15 minutes on the ground let’s go listen we will definitely watch that Brian best of luck to you thank you for your time [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]