Brian Ortega Reveals Alarming Details About His Weight Cut in Shanghai
UFC featherweight fighter Brian Ortega has confirmed that he fainted and woke up in the emergency room during his weight cut process at last month’s UFC Fight Night in Shanghai. Ortega (16-5) was scheduled to face Aljamain Sterling (24-5) in a co-main featherweight (145-pound) event, but the fight was transformed into a 153-pound catchweight after Ortega failed to make the required weight. The former title contender looked gaunt and unsteady on the scales, and ultimately lost all five rounds against Sterling according to the judges’ scorecards. In a video posted on social media on Monday, Ortega revealed the severity of the problems he faced when trying to make weight, including a fainting spell that lasted a considerable time on Friday morning.Ortega continued explaining what happened after losing consciousness. “During that time, they were putting ice on me, they took off all my clothes, they left me in my underwear. I woke up in the emergency room, I ripped everything off, I couldn’t really speak, translate to them. I thought, if they don’t take everything off, I’m going to take it off myself. We knew we had a time limit to get to the weigh-in, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to fight. If you saw the weigh-in, you obviously know that I looked delirious and just coming out of 30 minutes of being unconscious in the tunnel. After that, I weighed in. We thought that if I didn’t feel well or if something was wrong, we would cancel the fight.” Ortega, 34, has considered a possible permanent weight change for over a year, but has yet to schedule a lightweight fight in the UFC. He was forced to withdraw from a last-minute fight against Diego Lopes in 2024, due to medical issues related to his weight cut. According to Ortega, the UFC had a replacement opponent for him in Shanghai, but he stood firm on taking the fight despite the complications with the weight cut. “[Sterling told me], ‘they have a replacement fighter, don’t worry,’ but I told him, ‘no, I don’t want to waste your time,'” Ortega said. “We ate food. We rehydrated all day. I didn’t feel good; I wanted to cancel it. Just walking outside, I almost fainted. Everything in my body is telling me not to fight. First of all, I decided to fight for my family. That’s my job, to show up and do what I do for them. Secondly, I fought for you [the fans].”“I was on the bike for 20 minutes and, when I got off, I lost consciousness,” Ortega said. “I was unconscious for about 30 minutes.”
Brian Ortega
