Brian Ortega shares update on health after withdrawing from UFC 303 on fight day

Brian Ortega has opened up on why he withdrew from his UFC 303 fight against Diego Lopes on fight day.

Ortega and Lopes agreed to fight on short notice after Conor McGregor withdrew from his UFC 303 headliner against Michael Chandler, as the promotion looked to build out the card. With Ortega taking the fight on two weeks’ notice, he struggled to get down to 145lbs and the fight was moved to lightweight on weigh-in day.

However, Brian Ortega says he was feeling ill but tried to fight through it and thought once he rehydrated he would be better. But, on fight day, he couldn’t fight so he withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Dan Ige who took the fight on short notice.

Now, following Ortega falling out of UFC 303, he took to social media to provide an update on his health and what happened.

 

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A post shared by Brian Ortega (@briantcity)

“I’m feeling much better, thank you for all the love. Come fight week I felt off and I didn’t feel right, I thought it was just the residual effects from the cut. I was 178lbs when I accepted this fight on 15 days notice. Thursday night after 7 straight hours, I could not break 151lbs. Later, I would find out that I was battling a fever and I could not break into the final 5lbs as my body started to shut down. Rather than risking huge health consequences and possibly calling the fight iff, thankfully we were able to move the weight to 155lbs. At weigh-ins, I still felt off but I was sure it would go away after I rehydrated and ate,” Brian Ortega wrote on Instagram.

“Later on that night, I still felt off and was suffering from cold sweats and no sleep. Finally, I feel asleep at 6 am Saturday morning and wake up at 1 pm hoping to feel better. I could not keep any food or water down nor could I stand up to use the restroom. I struggled with my own ego, got on a call with Tiki and Hunter and I made the decision to call off the fight,” Brian Ortega continued.

“I dared to do something crazy for the love of fighting, but I got sick and my body gave out on me. I want to give the fans and my opponents my best performance every time I step into the cage. Diego Lopes I can only imagine what went off on your side, you have nothing but my respect and I’ll to Hunter and Tiki and make this right by you. To the UFC, Dana, Hunter, and the fans, thank you for having my back,” Ortega added.

When Ortega will be able to fight again is uncertain and it’s unknown if the UFC will look to rebook the Lopes fight.

Brian Ortega is 16-3 and one NC as a pro and is coming off a submission win over Yair Rodriguez.