Brian Ortega reflects on UFC Shanghai scare that ended featherweight run

Brian Ortega passed out during his weight cut before UFC Shanghai last August and woke up in a hospital, he said on the JAXXON podcast this week.

The incident forced the former featherweight title challenger to move his bout with Aljamain Sterling to a 153-pound catchweight and eventually convinced him to leave the division entirely. "I try not to say it was a scare, but this one scared me a little bit," Ortega told the show, per MMA Fighting.

Ortega's Shanghai emergency room trip and catchweight deal

Ortega said he went straight from the hospital to weigh-ins and made the Sterling fight happen. He credited Sterling with agreeing to the higher weight despite already having a replacement lined up, and said he got lucky the mishap occurred in China rather than the United States. "There's guys who pass out right before for like a second and the fight gets cancelled," he said, according to the report. "I just got lucky it was China."

The 33-year-old lost a decision to Sterling in that August contest and has not fought since. He was scheduled to meet Renato Moicano at lightweight in March at UFC 326 but withdrew with an injury. Ortega said he remains open to rebooking that matchup if both sides agree.

Ortega has competed at featherweight since age 15. His next UFC appearance will reportedly be at 155 pounds, where he said camp can focus on training rather than managing the scale.

Photo: MMAnytt / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — Brian Ortega reflects on UFC Shanghai weigh-in debacle that led to lightweight move: ‘This one scared me a little bit’ | MMA Fighting