Brian Ortega compares bout with Max Holloway to Aldo vs. McGregor

When Brian Ortega knocked out Frankie Edgar in the co-main event of last weekend’s UFC 222, he earned himself a shot at increasingly dominant UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.

From the moment Ortega earned this bout with Holloway, it’s been talked about as one of the best fights in the history of the featherweight division; a collision of two tremendous, young talents and well-rounded arsenals and killer instinct to boot.

Ortega has heard the praise of his yet-unscheduled matchup with Holloway, and he agrees with it. In fact, he considers this fight the best featherweight matchup since Conor McGregor stepped into the Octagon with then-dominant champion Jose Aldo in December of 2015.

“I love the style. People have said, and I will say it gain, I feel like this is one of the biggest fights in the UFC featherweight division since Conor and Aldo,” Ortega said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour (h/t MMAMania). “It’s going to be a great pay-per-view, and you guys are going to see two young guys who are hungry.”

Ortega went on to outline some of the similarities between himself and the champ Max Holloway.

“I feel like we have similar backgrounds, as he’s always stayed with his team from the beginning, so did I. He’s got his group of friends, I got my group of friends. He loves surfing, I love surfing,” Ortega said. “Hawaiian versus Mexican; we both like to scrap. I love this fight and I am happy I am going to be there for a full 25 minutes this time and fight for a world title.”

Who do you think comes out on top in a much-discussed featherweight title fight between champ Max Holloway and red-hot challenger Brian Ortega? Join the conversation in the comments section!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/6/2018.