Brian Ortega has questioned whether Ilia Topuria fought the same Alexander Volkanovski that he did, following Topuria’s knockout victory over Volkanovski at UFC 298.
Brian Ortega’s got a bone to pick. He’s not convinced that Ilia Topuria faced the same Alexander Volkanovski he did a few years back.
Last Saturday, Topuria made a splash. He knocked out Volkanovski in UFC 298’s main event, snagging the featherweight title. For the 35-year-old veteran, it was a first. His first loss in the weight class, that is.
Ortega, who’s been in the ring with the now ex-featherweight champ, isn’t so sure. He’s questioning if that was the same Volkanovski he had to face down.
Ortega’s words? “It just got shuffled last week, bro!” He was talking about the featherweight division’s state during his UFC Mexico City media day scrum. He gave props to Ilia, though. “He won. That was an impressive, very, very devastating KO that he got.”
Ortega’s trying to see both sides. He wonders if Topuria’s game plan was just that good. Staying calm, moving back, throwing power punches. But to him, Volk didn’t seem like the same guy. Ortega noticed a difference in his movements. But, Volk adjusts for every opponent, so who knows? Ortega’s curious about the featherweight division’s future.
Flashback to UFC 266 in 2021. Ortega challenged Volkanovski for the featherweight title. He lost a unanimous decision but nearly pulled off an incredible submission in the third round.
Topuria’s win might not be good news for Ortega. Even before winning the title, “El Matador” said he wouldn’t give title shots to fighters who lost against Volkanovski. He suggested they could “all go and retire.” But Ortega? He doesn’t seem too bothered.
His response? “We’ll see. We’ll see.”
Ortega’s got his own stuff to deal with before he can worry about Topuria or title shots. This weekend, “T-City” rematches Yair Rodriguez in UFC Mexico City’s five-round co-main event. Their first fight ended in controversy. A shoulder injury in the first round left Ortega unable to continue. Now, nearly two years later, he’s back. And he’s expecting a barnburner.
Ortega’s take on the first fight? “Basically, we just started getting warmed up. We were very dry, still trying to feel each other out, got ahold of each other, hit each other a little bit, felt each other’s strength. It was still partially in that feel-out session, so it’s going to now be two rounds of that feel-out session and then an extra added four after that. It’s going to be a good fight.”
UFC Mexico City? It’s happening this Saturday at Arena CDMX. Be there or be square.