Of all the dream fights that took place in the UFC, there are always some that almost happen before they’re canceled due to some unfortunate reasons. And one such fight that only almost happened was between ‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov and Brian Ortega. A fight between the two is one that fans surely would’ve loved to see, and that is exactly what the UFC featherweight thought.

A few years ago, before his fight against then-featherweight champion Max Holloway at UFC 231 in Toronto, Canada, Ortega revealed that he was looking for super fights in his career and wanted to ask Dana White about them. The opportunity had come once before, as he revealed in a tweet from back in 2018 that he was almost set up for a fight against ‘The Eagle. The tweet read, “For the record, Dana called me yesterday to see if I would step in against Khabib since Max hadn’t responded yet. I said yes. Eventually, Max replied, and Dana gave him the fight. If all goes according to plan, I’ll get my turn—at both of them.”

‘T-City’ revealed that he was all set to face Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 since Holloway did not respond for a fight against the Eagle; as a result, White called up Ortega to fill in instead. However, Holloway finally responded and took the spot from T-City.

This might bring forth bittersweet memories for fight fans. The trainwreck of a fight week before UFC 223 began with Tony Ferguson injuring his knee during media obligations. Nurmagomedov had to go through multiple opponent changes before he eventually fought AI Iaquinta to win the vacant lightweight belt.

But how do we know that Ortega isn’t lying about the story? Well, that’s because Dana White too shared a like on the post. Not just that, he also commented, “TRUTH” to verify ‘T-City’s account of things.

While Iaquinta did try his best, the undefeated MMA GOAT managed to get his hand raised after a grueling five rounds. As for Holloway, who took the fight on a six-day notice, he was left to watch the fight from home as he was ruled out due to medical reasons as he had to cut a lot of weight.

As for Ortega, he was left out of the PPV, and before we ever got to see the dream fight, Khabib retired. Nevertheless, Ortega has fought for a UFC title twice – at featherweight – but came up short on both occasions.

Now Ortega is gearing up for a five-round slugfest against Diego Lopes in Las Vegas. However, things won’t be so easy as Lopes has set his eyes on the featherweight title.

Lopes wants a win over Brian Ortega at all costs at UFC Noche

Ortega is all set to face Diego Lopes on the UFC Noche main card at the Las Vegas Sphere in Las Vegas. The featherweight Ortega is coming off his rematch against Yair Rodriguez, where he made his opponent submit to grab a win at UFC Fight Night 237. And now, the former two-time UFC featherweight title contender would be looking forward to winning against Diego Lopes to stay in the race for title contention. Ortega marks a big leap in competition for Lopes. Although the -170 favorite is clearly the fan favorite against the +142 underdog Ortega, the UFC fighter sees a lot at stake with a win over the former multiple-title challenger.

If he can continue his winning streak, the 29-year-old believes he could catapult himself into title contention. With a win over the Americans, there would be a major change in the rankings, and it will surely catapult Lopes into the top 5. So a win truly means a future title shot for the 25-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC star. What do you think? Will Lopes be able to pull it off, or will Ortega crush his dreams of being a champion? Let us know in the comments.