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Former title challenger Brian Ortega returns to the octagon this Saturday in Mexico City after a long layoff. He recently attributed his comeback to a personal "rebirth" inspired by the eagle's molting process.
Ortega, who faces Yair Rodríguez in the UFC Mexico City co-main event, detailed on media day the challenging self-isolation he undertook to improve his life and fighting career. He likened this process to the eagle's painful transformation, where it sheds its beak, talons, and feathers to emerge stronger:
"The rebirth is a nature process that the eagle goes through. Some difficult changes I had to make in my life... to live the rest of my life the right way."
UFC featherweight Arnold Allen reacted to a post featuring Ortega's comments, referencing his own name:
"Arnold means Eagle power FYI"
Ortega's comeback fight this weekend holds significant weight, given his recent losses and the competitive featherweight division.
Check out Brian Ortega's media day comments below:
Brian Ortega reflects on Alexander Volkanovski's loss at UFC 298
Following Alexander Volkanovski's surprise defeat to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, former opponent Brian Ortega shared his thoughts on the fight and the featherweight landscape.
During his aforementioned media day interview, Ortega acknowledged Topuria's impressive performance:
"It just got shuffled last week, bro [laughs]... Props to Ilia, right. He won, that was a very impressive devastating KO he got. For Volk, I'm trying to look at it just from both perspectives. Either Topuria's just game plan was really good, staying calm, moving back, throwing power punches."
However, Ortega raised an eyebrow at Volkanovski's performance, saying:
"Then Volk... to me, it didn't seem like it was the same Volk, right? Then seeing him and being in front of him I'm like man, you're moving different but obviously you adjust for every opponent that he has. So who knows? But I am curious to see what's going to happen now in the featherweight division."
Check out Brian Ortega's comments below:
