While Brian Ortega (25-6) already respected upcoming opponent Diego Lopes (16-3), it has only increased because of what the Brazilian did at UFC 303.
Ortega was preparing for a move up to lightweight when he accepted a featherweight matchup against Lopes on two weeks’ notice at UFC 303 this past June. The cut was too much for Ortega and it was announced that the fight fell through after the card had already commenced. In a miraculous turn of events, Dan Ige stepped in to fight Lopes on four hours’ notice. Lopes earned a hard fought unanimous decision win over the gritty “50K.”
Ortega really admires Lopes for accepting a fight on four hours’ notice at a catchweight of 165 pounds.
“The way [Diego Lopes] approaches things, it’s very admirable,” Ortega told UFC.com. “To be able to step in on short notice, last-minute, like four hours—just everything that he had to go through, he earned my respect. Not that it wasn’t there before, but I had more of admirable attitude towards what he’s done and what he’s doing.”
UFC 306: O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!
The matchup between Ortega and ranked Lopes has been remade for UFC 306 on Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas. For the Mexican-American Ortega, it will be a unique experience fighting on the card which is also being billed as Noche UFC Riyadh Season, the promotion’ yearly tribute to Mexico.
“You already know it’s going to be crazy,” Ortega said. “Just the fact that the fights are at Sphere, that’s one thing. And then you add Mexican Independence Day, which I wasn’t here [last year], but from what I heard, it went off. It was crazy. The crowd, the energy was wild. Hopefully, that can be duplicated this year.”
Ortega was far removed from the title picture after his second failed gold bid at UFC 266 against Alexander Volkanovski in 2021. He then suffered a freak shoulder injury in a loss against Yair Rodriguez the following year. Ortega returned to action after nearly two years in a rematch against Rodriguez at UFC Mexico City this past February. After visibly injuring his ankle right before the fight started, Ortega pulled off a third-round submission win in vintage fashion.
Meanwhile, Lopes has rebounded from a foiled debut against Movsar Evloev with a four-fight winning streak that includes three first-round finishes.
