Brian Ortega reveals plans to move to lightweight, possible matchup with Charles Oliveira: “He’s a tough motherf*cker, man”

UFC featherweight contender Brian Ortega sees him moving up to 155-pounds in the future.

‘T-City’ was last in action against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266 last September. In the headliner, Ortega lost via unanimous decision. However, the fight with ‘The Great’ was regarded as one of the best of 2021.

The 31-year-old is set to return at UFC Long Island this Saturday against Yair Rodriguez. Ahead of the event, the matchup is viewed as a possible title-eliminator fight. ‘El Pantera’ has confirmed that he’s been told he will indeed get a title shot if he wins.

Despite being near the top of 145-pounds, Brian Ortega sees himself moving to lightweight. At UFC Long Island media day, the featherweight revealed his plans to move to 155-pounds. The 31-year-old also discussed a possible fight with Charles Oliveira.

“Eventually, I do want to go up there and fight at ’55. Who knows? I might just have to shut everyone up and just go up there, and who cares what they say. But in the future, I will be at ’55.” (h/t MMAJunkie)

Brian Ortega continued, “It would be a great fight [against Charles Oliveira]. He’s a tough motherf*cker, man. That guy’s on roll right now. I’m so happy for him because his story is motivating – losing and losing, and it almost seemed like he was going down. Like, everyone forgot about him, and as a fighter, like fighter to fighter, you start maybe thinking, ‘Oh f*ck, is my career coming to an end here?’ Or ‘Am I not the same anymore?’

“And this guy moves up a whole other weight class and just dominates – what, 10 fights in a row? – wins the belt, defends it once, twice already. That sh*t’s motivational. To share the octagon with anyone on that skill level, for me, would be an honor. I think people took it disrespectfully, but as a fighter and as a competitor, I want to test myself against the best.”

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