Brian Ortega still believes he’s the man to hand featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski his first loss in the UFC.
Ortega fought Volkanovski at UFC 266, where the champion dominated the proceedings except for the third round, where the American had him in a world of trouble, dropping ‘The Great’ and making a couple of very close submission attempts. The Aussie managed to power out of the choke holds however, and won the fight by a comfortable unanimous decision.
Brian Ortega On Alex Volkanovski
Despite losing at UFC 266, Ortega believes he has the tools to beat Volkanovski in a potential rematch. Speaking to Inside Fighting (as transcribed by MMA Junkie), ‘T-City’ said that he’s a “deadly” opponent for the 145-pound king and would love to run it back with him.
“I would love that personally because I feel like from what the world’s seeing is he’s won the belt, he’s defended the belt, and the one person that gave him the hardest time was me,” Ortega said. “[I] put him in the most danger he’s ever been in his career.
“I just put him in the most danger and people noticed that, people saw. I’m just a deadly opponent for him. Obviously, I’m always gonna train to win, to fight this guy and beat this guy. I believe I have the tools and capabilities to do so if I play my cards right. So it’s all about seeing how I can play my cards right and going in there and finishing this man.”
While Volkanovski wants to stay busy at featherweight, he is currently nursing a broken thumb and prioritising a move up to lightweight in hopes of becoming a two division champion. Ortega will face Yair Rodriguez in a potential title eliminator in the UFC on ABC 3 main event this weekend.
Do you agree with Brian Ortega that he’s a “deadly” matchup for Alex Volkanovski?
