Brian Ortega Reveals Detailed Experience During Weight Cut in Shanghai
UFC featherweight 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, with a record of 16-5, was originally scheduled to face Aljamain Sterling (24-5) in a co-main event in the featherweight category (145 pounds). However, the match was modified to a catchweight of 153 pounds after Ortega failed to make weight. During the weigh-in, the former champion looked emaciated and unstable. Subsequently, he lost all five rounds to 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 prolonged fainting spell on Friday morning.Ortega continued describing the incident: “During that time, they were putting ice on me, they took off all my clothes and left me in my underwear. I woke up in the emergency room, they took everything off me, I couldn’t speak well, I couldn’t communicate with them. I told them that if they didn’t take everything off me, I would 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, fresh out of being unconscious for 30 minutes 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 move to a higher weight class 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 the fight. On the way out, I almost fainted. Everything in my body was 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
