Brian Ortega has garnered all the attention of the MMA realm with his desire to move up a weight category and compete against the lightweight fighters. Needless to say, this desire pushed the fighting community to cast a shadow of doubt over his upcoming fight against Diego Lopes at UFC 306.

During the press conference for Riyadh Season Noche UFC, a reporter asked if ‘T-City’ was interested in moving up in the weight class. Without wasting a single moment, the featherweight contender said, “1000%, because you know, Because you know, you got Topuria and Max fighting in October then after that you have whatever date they decide on next year to fight. So, it’s like a line to fight for the belt. And depending on how this fight goes this weekend it’s gonna determine whether the fans believe that I deserve another shot or not. But either or, my goal is to stay busy. And if there’s nothing for me in the Featherweight division then I’ll move up.”

The matchup between Ortega and Diego Lopes has already recorded some significant troubles. The duo were set to fight each other at UFC 303. However, Ortega happened to fall sick. He was forced to pull out of the fight with just a couple of hours left for the fight. This created a huge outburst in the fighting community as Dan Ige swooped in to save the day and fought Lopes on such short notice.

Now, Lopes and Ortega are booked to clash yet again, but problems seem to have tailed them again. Initially, the fight was scheduled to be at 145 lbs. But Ortega weighed a lot more than that. It was nigh on impossible for him to lose about 30 lbs in just 15 days. Hence, the fight was then set to be at 155 lbs. 

However, Ortega’s certainty to go to the lightweight division has sparked yet another debate in the world of combat sports. The fans seem to believe that he would pull out of the bout in UFC 306. Let’s see what the fans had to say.

A shadow of doubt is cast over the fight between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes at UFC 306

As soon as Ortega’s words found their way to social media, the fight fans took over the comments section and opined that ‘T-City’ might miss weight and pull out of the fight. “Missed weight incoming,” one fan commented. Meanwhile, another fan wrote, “Well he’s moving up, so him missing weight would be a good reason for him to change weight classes in this instance.” But the fight fans weren’t ready to see him withdraw from the fight against Lopes. One fan urged the featherweight #3 to fight Lopes before talking about going to the LW division. The comment read, “Make weight first,then talk about changing another weight class.”

A few of the fans asserted that the fight was not going to happen. One of them reflected on the events of UFC 303 and wrote, “fights off , call Dan Ige now.” Another fan pointed out, “Bro don’t wanna fight.”

However, some of the fight fans provided a warning to the featherweight contender. The lightweight division is indeed filled with strong prospects like Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan ruling the rankings. Defeating such fighters requires a humongous load of effort. This will indeed put the Ortega way back in the line in his quest to get the title. One fan pointed this out and wrote, “I love Ortega but moving to light weight he will wait even longer for a championship fight if he makes it through all the dogs guarding their rank.” But another comment highlighted the size difference between ‘T-City’ and the lightweights, quoting, “He lacks muscle and so real lightweights will ragdoll him.”

Nevertheless, what happens at Riyadh Season Noche UFC is something that the fight fans will have to wait and watch. The probability of the fight breaking off is pretty low. But the question that remains is how long will it take for Ortega to debut in the LW realm.

What are your thoughts on Ortega’s plans to move up the weight class? Do you think it will hamper his stance at UFC 306? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.