The UFC Mexico City co-main event victor, Brian ‘T-City’ Ortega earned a superb submission victory over his rival Yair Rodriguez with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of his fight. The 33-year-old may have not spoken much about his next target during his in-octagon interview. But Ortega let his heart out about the same during the post-event press conference later. Ortega’s plans may make the UFC head honcho, Dana White, think about the featherweight division’s title contenders’ scenario once more.
‘T-City’s’ words revealed that he wasn’t pretty happy about a lot of fans dissing the fallen UFC featherweight champ, Alexander Volkanovski after his defeat at UFC 298. But Ortega also wanted a shot at the featherweight gold. This is why he elected ‘Volk’ as his next rival to prove himself as a worthy contender. But the 33-year-old also said that he wanted a shot at the featherweight gold directly, if ‘The Great’ turned down a fight against him.
An ‘X’ update revealed Ortega’s words about the same. It read:
“If ‘Volk’ decides that he does not want to fight and chill, I’m more than happy to go to Spain.”
Brian Ortega on what’s next for him after #UFCMexico
“Volk was a great champ. For people to kick him down right now, I find it disrespectful for everything that he’s done.
If [Volk] decides that he does not want to fight and chill, I’m more than happy to go to Spain.”
#UFC… pic.twitter.com/69Jos19INJ
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 25, 2024
It was the noted current UFC featherweight champ, Ilia Topuria, who wanted to have his maiden title defense fight in his home country of Spain. Hence, it’s quite apparent that Ortega’s mention of Spain means a title shot only. But even if he gets it, ‘El Matador’ will nowhere be an easy rival to defeat.
Will Brian Ortega be able to defeat Ilia Topuria if they lock horns in the future?
The UFC Mexico City bore testimony to ‘T-City’s’ incredible BJJ skills. Despite showcasing some good prowess on the feet, Ortega ultimately finished ‘El Pantera’ Rodriguez on the ground. But he also got wobbled by a strike from the former UFC interim featherweight champ in the first round.
It won’t be wrong to say that Ilia Topuria’s striking is way better than Rodriguez’s. ‘El Matador’ will trump ‘El Pantera’ if things come to the power in their punches. Hence, a Rodriguez-like strike from Topuria may shut the lights of Ortega as it did to ‘Volk’ at UFC 298. The 27-year-old Spanish also packs a superb BJJ game along with his striking.
Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that Topuria may prove to be a nasty rival for Ortega. But his superb ground game will also enable him to turn the fight drastically once it goes to the ground. All in all, the fans may expect a barnburner if the UFC authorities decide to make the Topuria vs. Ortega fight for the UFC featherweight gold.
