Had things turned out differently, Ortega would have been in the Octagon one bout earlier, squaring off with reigning featherweight king Max Holloway in the evening’s co-main event. Instead, Ortega was left without an opponent after Holloway was pulled from the card during fight week due to concussion-like symptoms.
Ortega reportedly had a chance to remain on the card, as he was offered an interim title fight against Jeremy Stephens on short notice. “T-City” declined that fight, opting to wait for Holloway to return to full health. At the moment, it is unclear when Holloway will be able to defend his 145-pound belt.
Ortega took to Instagram on Sunday to defend his decision.
“I’m a businessman, a company man, but I’m no yes man,” Ortega wrote. “Watching the fights last night knowing I could have been performing for all of you truly took a toll on me. I stand by my decision. Thank you to all of you who showed up to support and respected my decision. For those of you who don’t agree with me I completely understand and promise to give you guys the show of your life when I fight for the title.”
Ortega has won six consecutive fights in the Octagon — all by way of knockout or submission. He last appeared at UFC 222, where he knocked out Frankie Edgar 4:44 into the opening round of their featherweight clash.
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