One legendary MMA figure says Brian Ortega is at a crossroads in his UFC career.
It was a difficult night and week as a whole at the office for Ortega in Shanghai, where he co-headlined the latest UFC Fight Night in a five-round showdown with former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
After having his momentum stalled by Diego Lopes at UFC 306 inside the Sphere last September, ‘T-City’ was looking to reignite his hopes of a third shot at the featherweight title.
Instead, though, Ortega was comfortably beaten by Sterling across 25 minutes, with ‘Funk Master’ winning all five rounds on every scorecard in a fight that did not deliver the kind of grappling excitement many had predicted.
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John McCarthy is not sure Brian Ortega still has the hunger to fight
Ortega has come under fire from many in the community after his latest performance, especially given what preceded it.
The fight had to take place at a catchweight of 153 pounds after Ortega experienced a weight-cut scare on Friday. The former two-time title challenger was reportedly hospitalized while trying to drop the pounds, marking the latest of many struggles Ortega has had with his weight.
Plenty were shocked to see the fight go ahead, and when he did enter the cage, ‘T-City’ offered little offense to trouble Sterling. John McCarthy, for one, saw a man who is not as motivated and passionate about fighting as he once was.
“Brian, what are you thinking?” McCarthy asked on his Weighing In podcast. “Are you truly, really into this?
“I can tell you, when Brian was young, and I knew him before he was ever in the UFC, did his fights and would talk to him, he would always talk about, ‘I love fighting, I love fighting.’ … You need to. And then even in his (latest) interviews, ‘I love fighting.’ Okay, then why are you not putting the things into it that are going to make you the success that you were earlier in your career?
“There seems to be something askew,” McCarthy continued. “There seems to be something that is changing…and it’s not just the competition. He has faced great competition for a long time now.
“When you are not capable (of pulling the trigger), it becomes very difficult to win a fight. I just don’t see that same offensive aggression from him.”
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Brian Ortega has not won consecutive fights since 2016
Saturday’s result marked the latest on a run of inconsistency for Ortega ever since having his undefeated status taken away.
After Ortega knocked out Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, he was 14-0 in MMA, had collected four bonuses in his previous three fights, and was set for his first title challenge.
Ortega’s brutal loss to Max Holloway followed, and ‘T-City’ has won just two of his six appearances in the seven years since.
With his place in the featherweight division now at risk following a scary weight issue in Shanghai, it remains to be seen what will come next for Ortega.