Brian Ortega Reveals Detailed Experience After Fainting During Weight Cut
The renowned UFC featherweight fighter, Brian Ortega, has confirmed that he fainted and woke up in the emergency room during his weight cut process for 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 division (145 pounds). However, the match transformed into a 153-pound catchweight after Ortega missed weight. During the weigh-in, the former champion looked emaciated and unstable. Subsequently, he 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 prolonged fainting spell on Friday morning.Ortega continued explaining the situation: “During that time, they put ice on me, took off all my clothes, and left me in my underwear. I woke up in the emergency room, I took everything off, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t communicate with them. I thought, if they don’t take everything off, I’ll 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 they saw the weigh-in, they obviously know that I seemed delirious, just recovering from 30 minutes of unconsciousness in the tunnel. After that, I gave the weight. We thought that if I didn’t feel well or if something was really wrong, we would cancel the fight.” Ortega, 34, has considered a permanent weight class change for over a year, but has yet to secure a lightweight fight in the UFC. Ortega 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 prepared for him in Shanghai, but he stood firm in his decision to 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 recounted. “We ate. We rehydrated all day. I didn’t feel good; I wanted to cancel the fight. When leaving, I almost fainted and fell. 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. I was unconscious for about 30 minutes,” Ortega stated.
Brian Ortega
