WATCH: When Max Holloway stopped the fight to teach Brian Ortega to block his punches
UFC veteran Max Holloway once took the opportunity to teach Brian Ortega how to catch a punch in between rounds. And he did this mid-fight in their own epic battle.
Brian Ortega faced Max Holloway in a title fight at UFC 231. The two Featherweights headlined the main event. Although Brian Ortega had, up till this point, managed to remain undefeated, Max Holloway was not going to make it an easy fight for the aspiring champion. Holloway successfully defended his title and delivered Ortega a crushing fourth-round TKO. One of the highlight moments, when Holloway taught Ortega how to block his punch, went viral on social media. People were amazed as well as amused by the act, while many questioned the legitimacy of the fight.
This was a defining moment for Ortega, who took a hiatus to focus on his skills as a fighter. His debut fight in 2014 ended up being declared as No Contest. But other than that, he had a successful run against fighters right up till facing Holloway in December of 2018 for his first-ever title fight. After the crushing defeat at the hands of ‘Blessed’, Ortega returned in October of 2020 and successfully defeated Cham Sung Jung via unanimous decision.
But everything changed after the Holloway fight. Ortega had his second title fight in 2021 at UFC 266 against Alexander Volkanovski. Brian displayed an amazing performance but ultimately lost a unanimous decision. In his last fight, Yair Rodriguez knocked him out in the first round.
Brian Ortega talked about his impactful fight against Max Holloway
Brian Ortega talked about his fight against Max Holloway to TMZ. “That was the best thing about it. It showed me that there’s a flaw in your system, so now we had to fix that,” Brian said. “… luckily I was able to have a team – a new one – surround me and help me kind of cover all those holes and guide me now on the right track. I feel great”.
“I feel like I am finally learning how to fight more, you know. I feel like before,” he said. “… if you’re not learning and losing, then you’re not doing your job,’ which is great.” Unfortunately, Brian is yet to get back into the groove he was in before facing Holloway. ‘T-City’ has not fought this year, as fans anticipate a comeback in 2023.
Reportedly, Giga Chikadze is looking for a summer showdown with the featherweight contender. Chikadze has 14 wins and three losses to his name. In 2021, he was ranked #8 in the UFC featherweight rankings.
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