Brian Ortega

Brian Martin Ortega (born February 21, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

[15] He won his first pro-MMA championship against Carlos Garces in a five-round bout via unanimous decision, becoming the Respect in the Cage featherweight champion.

Ortega was expected to make his promotional debut against Diego Brandão on May 31, 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale.

Due to the late nature of the change, officials did not try to find a replacement and Ortega was pulled from the card as well.

[19] Ortega eventually made his debut on July 26, 2014, at UFC on Fox 12 against Mike De La Torre.

[25] Ortega faced Diego Brandão, who is a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, on January 2, 2016, at UFC 195.

[48] Dropping Jung multiple times, Ortega won the one sided match by unanimous decision.

[51] On April 2, 2021, it was announced that Alexander Volkanovski and Ortega would be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 29 at ESPN+ and the show will feature contestants at bantamweight and middleweight.

[56] He lost the fight via TKO at the end of the first round after suffering a dislocated shoulder which rendered him unable to continue.

[57] After a year and a half layoff, Ortega returned to rematch against Yair Rodríguez on February 24, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 237.

[61] The bout was originally scheduled for Featherweight, but was changed one day before the event due to weight cutting issues by Ortega.

[62] Subsequently, the day of the event, Ortega withdrew from the bout due to an illness and was replaced at the last minute by Dan Ige.

[65] On March 8, 2020, a police report was filed against Ortega for allegedly slapping rapper Jay Park, translator for Jung Chan-sung (Korean Zombie), at UFC 248.