Diego Lopes‘ victory over Brian Ortega at UFC 306 marked a career-defining moment for Lopes. However, it was not a good day for one of the UFC’s most seasoned featherweight contenders. Other than the unanimous decision loss, 33-year-old Ortega took a significant beating at Noche UFC. Here is what happened:
In the opening round, Diego Lopes wasted no time establishing his dominance, landing a crushing left hook that stunned Brian Ortega within the first 30 seconds. This early damage set the tone for the fight, with Lopes pushing Ortega against the cage and securing top control. He continued to rain down strikes, opening a nasty gash above Ortega’s eye.
The final round saw more back-and-forth action, with both fighters trading shots in the pocket. Despite Ortega’s efforts, Lopes landed the more significant strikes, wobbling Ortega once again in the last 30 seconds. As per the stats, in his last six fights Brian Ortega has absorbed 750 significant strikes, 574 of which were to the head.
In his last six fights in the octagon, Ortega has won exactly two, despite contending at two title fights in the mix. In 2018, he lost to Max Holloway via TKO due to a doctor’s stoppage. Ortega’s face was left badly swollen, particularly around his eye. He sustained a broken nose and fractured orbital bone, which forced him out of competition for nearly two years.
For his comeback, Ortega defeated Chan Sung Jung but endured another punishing bout in the title fight against Alexander Volkanovski. By the end of the fight, his face was severely swollen, and he had difficulty seeing. Ortega fought Yair Rodriguez next but lost due to a shoulder injury in the first round. He won the rematch but again got outworked by Diego Lopes at Noche UFC.
Netizens react to viral stat about Brian Ortega’s injuries
Brian Ortega’s unbelievable statistic made it to the internet and went viral in the MMA community. People went to the comment section to share their thoughts and reactions to the post. Here are some of the reactions from X:
Fans express concern for Brian Ortega (Image via Imago)He took the most emotional damage from that fan mentioning Tracy lmao
— UFC King (@UFCFriedChicken) September 16, 2024
I can’t watch it. He gets battered, then has to somehow make the comeback. On top of that, he rarely uses his BJJ
— MMA Madman (@woodlandmadman) September 17, 2024
CTE is going to be wild for that boy. He should hang it up. Anyone else know why he doesn’t stick to his strengths and actually try to submit people anymore? Seems like he is always trying to keep the fight standing now. Strange choice.
— Logic Bound Philosophy 👁️ (@AtNecks) September 17, 2024
Ortega popped for PEDs and looks like a punching bag every fight. Please keep him out of the top 5 for a long time.
— PapaSlime (@FrontKickUFC) September 16, 2024
He was never the same after the Max fight…..
Then you add in that Volk fight on top of that, which is sad he should had won that one but Volk just couldn’t be choked out
— 🤡Joker🤡 (@1970sJoker) September 17, 2024
Somebody mentioned that Ortega took the most damage when a fan mentioned ex-girlfriend Tracy Cortez after the UFC 306 loss. Others cited CTE which is something to consider in Ortega’s case now. Meanwhile, other fans commended his chin for not getting knocked out despite taking so much damage.
The 33-year-old has faced a string of losses in the last few years. Before his fight at UFC Noche Ortega wanted to move up a weight class. As such, he did not see a real upside in fighting Lopes. However, he did so for the organization. Now, it is likely that Ortega will move to lightweight.
