Brian Ortega knew he needed to fix things within his camp following his come-from-behind stoppage win over Renato Moicano, but his requests were met with a familiar refrain: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
To that point, Ortega was unbeaten; a rising star in the UFC featherweight division on a four-fight winning streak where each victory came inside the distance. His next two fights produced two more victories, two more finishes, and three post-fight bonuses while putting him in a position to challenge Max Holloway for the featherweight title.
A summer date was scuttled during fight week, shifting the highly anticipated contest to early December.