Ortega’s coach, Rener Gracie, revealed that the featherweight suffered a serious cut above his left eye after absorbing a headbutt in training. The wound required four stitches on the outside and 10 on the surface, according to Gracie.
“Being so close to the fight we knew that one light punch in that region would have busted it right open,” Gracie wrote. “It was our biggest concern (until he rolled his ankle during Round 0).”
Gracie posted a video of when the headbutt occurred along with a photo of the wound on his Instagram. Also included was Ortega’s video response to his coach after receiving stitches, where it becomes clear that withdrawing from his fight against Yair Rodriguez was never a consideration.
“The show continues, homie,” Ortega said. “We don’t even care. [We’re] sweating, The show continues.”
While Ortega appeared to hurt his ankle during pre-fight introductions and then had to endure a difficult opening round in the UFC Night 237 co-main event, he remained composed and pulled away for a third-round submission victory in his rematch with Rodriguez. It was the first UFC appearance for Ortega since suffering a shoulder injury in his initial meeting with “El Pantera” in July 2022.