“Day time $75, Night time $75K,” When Brian Ortega opened up on the fight that stopped him from quitting MMA

Brian Ortega's victory in his second UFC fight marked a turning point, from financial despair to renewed hope, illustrating the high stakes and dramatic shifts in the life of a UFC fighter.

“Day time $75, Night time $75K,” When Brian Ortega opened up on the fight that stopped him from quitting MMA

Brian Ortega once contemplated retirement from MMA (Image via: IMAGO)

Brian Ortega challenged for the UFC featherweight title twice in his career. However, he lost both fights to Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway respectively. Nevertheless, he came agonizingly close to becoming champion against Volkanovski with a mounted guillotine, which the Australian miraculously escaped. Nonetheless, Ortega is a fan favorite due to his granite chin, slick BJJ, and tremendous power.

Even though he became one of the best featherweight fighters in the UFC, he had contemplated retirement once in his career. Ortega won his UFC debut, but the athletic commission banned him for testing positive for an anabolic steroid. However, he won his second fight after the suspension, and his decision to retire changed after it. Ortega once spoke of it on a podcast. This is what he said.

I was gonna quit if I lost that fight...; I wasn't making money, you know, and I tried to buy some Jordans and I couldn't afford them. I had $75 to my name the day of the fight, and I'm like, 'Bro, I have two f*cking kids. Like, I can't. What the f*ck am I doing?" And uh, that night, it went from there. Like I said, daytime $75, nighttime $75k.
Brian Ortega via My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox
YouTube video

Oretga’s appearance on the podcast was just before his fight with Yair Rodriguez at UFC on ABC 3. It was also his last appearance inside the octagon as he dislocated his shoulder in the bout. Before that, he lost to Volkanovski via unanimous decision. Interestingly, Ortega’s upcoming fight is a rematch against Yair Rodriguez in the co-main event of UFC Mexico. Both Rodriguez and Ortega are very inactive as the fight is only Ortega’s 4th in 5 years, whereas its 5th in 4 years for Rodriguez.

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Ortega’s second fight happened at UFC 195 against Diego Brandao, a veteran fighter who fought Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. Brandao and Ortega fought tooth and nail, and in the third round, Ortega knocked Brandao out. The performance by the duo garnered a $50K bonus from the UFC. At the time, Ortega had $12K to show and $12K to win.

Brian Ortega’s rematch against Yair Rodriguez is in Mexico City in the upcoming Fight Night UFC event. The UFC has stacked the fight card with Mexicans, with 11 out of 26 fighters on the card. Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval will headline PVV. Ortega is already in Mexico City, and there he met with fellow BJJ expert Charles Oliveira.

Brian Ortega
Brian Ortega (Via UFC)

Ortega is one of the best BJJ fighters in the featherweight division. Oliveira previously competed at featherweight before he became the UFC lightweight champion. Moreover, he holds the record for the most submissions in both divisions. Ortega and Oliveira met at the fighter hotel of UFC Mexico City and shared an embrace.

Oliveira was there as his teammate Felipe Dos Santos will compete against Victor Altamirano in a prelims fight. Like Dos Santos, Ortega will have the audience against him as both fight Mexicans. Only 2 fights on the UFC Mexico City fight card do not have a Mexican in it.

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