Brian Ortega’s occupation has taken him all over the world.
The UFC featherweight has competed close to his South Bay home in arenas like The Forum and Honda Center, flown into big cities like Las Vegas, Toronto and New Orleans and impressed overseas in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
But on Saturday, Ortega’s bucket list get another check mark when he takes on Yair Rodriguez in a rematch in Saturday’s co-main event in Mexico City.
“Dream come true. There has always been a vision, now it’s going to come true,” said Ortega, whose parents are from Sonora, of fighting in Mexico’s capital. “I’ve always pictured me fighting in Mexico. I’ve always pictured when this is going to happen.”
His fighting career has also taken him to the mountaintop twice, only to come up short in both title fights. His first loss, after a doctor mercifully stopped his beating at the hands of Max Holloway, at the end of 2018 sent him spiraling.
Battered and broken, Ortega celebrated his 28th birthday by disappearing with friends for a solid week of partying. He emerged from the chasm swearing off drinking, determined to never fall that far again.
Four years later, he found himself sinking to new depths. “I thought I’d hit rock bottom,” Ortega said, “and I found out you can go further.”
Finally knocked down
Ortega, who turned 33 on Wednesday, is as respected for his elite jiu-jitsu as his chin, tested ruthlessly first by Holloway and again by then-champ Alexander Volkanovski in what many regarded as the Fight of the Year in 2021.
While both opponents were probably icing their hands for days after, neither knocked him down.
Ortega took 10 months to recover from the second loss before taking on Rodriguez on July 16, 2022. Ortega learned his right shoulder wasn’t as durable as his jaw, dislocating it after trying to extract his arm from a submission attempt. The fight, after a little more four minutes, was over. Ortega had lost for the third time in…
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