The UFC 306 Noche PPV fight card is now a go following Friday’s official weigh-in session. All 20 fighters hedged the scale perfectly for their fights, marquee or otherwise. Saturday’s UFC 306 (ESPNews, ESPN+), aka Noche UFC, is a bantamweight and women’s flyweight double headliner. However, the next key matchup has featherweight veteran Brian Ortega meeting surging challenger Diego Lopes. Ahead of this, Ortega’s output has been a concern.
Thursday’s Media Day event began at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) in the parking lot of the Las Vegas ‘Sphere’. Before the pre-fight official conference interviews, the stars attended pre-fight check-ins, initial media rounds, photo ops, and poster signing at APEX ‘Fighter Meetings’. With UFC 306 Fight Week, the ceremonial ‘Embedded’ series is back in full force. While everyone else gets ready after, UFC 306 ‘Embedded,’ No. 5 sees ‘T-City’ in some new machinery in the evening.
We’ve done full camps with Brian, …we were there before the Yair Rodriguez fight… And we just installed the hyperbaric training chamber. Really excited about it; it’s an amazing piece of technology that’s gonna perfectly complement everything the UFC is trying to accomplish…He did full two months…Little did everybody know he’s training at 19000ft on a bike on a treadmill putting in the work in…
Ryder Rodgers, Lead Chamber Operater for Stratosphere ATC at APEX; 🎥: UFC 306 ‘Embedded,’ No. 5
New machinery namely – a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. While the oxygen does not diminish, the air molecules are thinner, thus mimicking working at higher, thinner altitudes. This helps enhance and mimic fight-time cardio. Some hyperbaric functionalities also have fighters sleeping in pressurized chambers; wherein an hour of rest inside is like 4 to 5 on the outside. World’s Strongest Man and HW Tom Aspinall’s close comrade Eddie ‘The Beast’ Hall often uses this.
I see many people posting this Brian Ortega picture and saying the photoshoot is from this week. This shoot was done in late July (just like almost all other main card fighters) for promotional stuff.
The pictures weren’t available on Getty until yesterday. Only O’Malley &… pic.twitter.com/ZSmTseaHnT
— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) September 12, 2024
Hard-chin Brian Ortega is infamous as a BJJ savant and optimal gas tank. However, he had to withdraw from the UFC 303 pay-per-view in June. A photo op from July for a Noche promotional also went viral with a hydrated, flab Ortega picture. It had fight fans concerned about the possibility of another pullout. However, ‘T-City’ and his camp ensure that he is in shape and putting in the work.
His opponent, Diego Lopes will be glad Ortega made weight. However, he was ready to plow through any replacement if Ortega had missed weight. Lopes is on a 4 fight win streak and as such determined to make his way to the title.
Brian Ortega is not sure about UFC 306 win, but loves the fight
Brian Ortega doesn’t see a whole lot of upside in his main card bout with Diego Lopes. Probably not enough for a UFC title shot, anyway. Even though on a main slot, it helps the Team Lobo Gym MMA fighter more. ‘T-City’ is at a “been there, done that” stage of UFC contention.
Brian Ortega ready for UFC 306 Noche challenge against Diego Lopes (Source: UFC.go.com/X)When he returns Saturday on the main card of the UFC 306 Noche event at Sphere in Las Vegas, Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) enters as a two-time UFC title challenger at featherweight. At times hard-chinned, at times super wobbly, the Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center fighter gets the job done when need be.
Brian Ortega had been eyeing a move up to 155-pound limits before his booking against Diego Lopes (25-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in June. A win for Lopes will mostly earn him a crack at the belt as promised. But for Ortega, it’s more about the journey and the prep now.
We’ll see … we’ll see, …The UFC has its own opinions on his ranking, and I think this fight has more of an upside for him than for me…If he beats me, they’ll say he’s the next big thing and will be going for the title and all that…This is why I got into the sport – to have badass fights that everyone will like. Who doesn’t want to fight without the talk and all the bullsh*t?
Brian Ortega to Danny Segura for MMA Junkie in Spanish; 🎥: @HablemosMMA on YT
It was a huge tease for the MMA world. When Ortega saw the hype surrounding it, coupled with the disappointment when the fight failed to materialize, he became even more sold on the idea. Now, it’s two BJJ savants going head to head on the challenge.
As of writing this, the UFC 306 pay-per-view (PPV) event official weigh-ins are already over. Early weigh-ins went live at the promotion’s APEX grounds, at 12 p.m. ET. Ceremonial weigh-ins took place at The Sphere (Parking Lot A) at 10 p.m. ET. Ortega (146) vs. Diego Lopes (146) is a go, with both having successfully scaled in. Now, it’s every man for themselves at the Noche fight.
