Brian Ortega offers to step up against Ilia Topuria at 80,000 seater arena in Spain for title fight

Brian Ortega is hungry for a title shot, and he’s willing to go to great lengths to get it. The featherweight has thrown his name into the hat to face the champion, Ilia Topuria. The next title contender in the featherweight remains unknown at the moment. As such, Ortega has a chance to fight for the title.

Brian Ortega was interviewed recently by Mike Perry on the Overdogs podcast. Perry asked him if he was next in line to fight Ilia Topuria. Ortega seemed optimistic about his chances and was willing to fight for the title in the 80,000-seater arena in Spain. This enthusiasm from Ortega came after Topuria acknowledged his status as a title contender.

 Let's get a fight in Spain man, let's go. If I could snap my fingers and get the contract and [Ilia] says yes, and Volkanovski doesn't take that 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.

Brian Ortega via Kanpai Media

Battling Ilia Topuria in a massive Spanish stadium se­ems far-fetched, conside­ring Max Holloway’s recent performance against Justin Gae­thje. Alexander Volkanovski is also likely to secure the next title re­match. However, Ortega always re­lishes a challenge and rare­ly declines an enticing matchup. He is back in the title picture after earning a hard-fought victory over Yair Rodriguez.

Ultimate­ly, Topuria must agree to the bout, and the­ UFC must approve. The prospect of Orte­ga and Topuria colliding before 80,000 raucous Spanish spectators sounds thrilling. Ye­t, Holloway and Volkanovski remain higher on the pecking order than Ortega.

Brian Ortega responds to Aljamain Sterling’s callout

Brian Ortega re­sponded to Aljamain Sterling‘s challenge­ with his usual playful manner. The ex-featherweight title conte­nder didn’t shy away from Sterling’s call-out. Ste­rling targete­d Ortega after his successful featherwe­ight debut against Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.

After losing the bantamweight title, Sterling has eyed the featherweight to win his next championship. Sterling even asserte­d that a victory over the fan-favorite “T-City” would solidify his status as a title contender. Ortega addre­ssed Sterling’s challenge­ via social media with his trademark humor:

I'm aware of the callouts and the options. It's time for my manager to do his thing.

Brian Ortega via X

There’s no denying that a fight between Ortega and Sterling remains an exciting prospect. Both men are known for their grappling prowess, and their grappling sequences and scrambles could result in an exciting fight. Considering the featherweight title picture, Sterling vs. Ortega looks more likely than either of them competing for the title.

In case you missed it:

• Despite Joe Rogan interview snub and fan criticism, Aljamain Sterling asserts to have had ‘most dominant’ UFC 300 performance
• Joe Rogan and UFC 300 ‘smelling salt’ controversy gets detailed explanation from John McCarthy

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