Brian Ortega Has Spent “The Last Two Years… Reprogramming” Himself
When Ortega steps back into the Octagon, one thing he wants to show everybody is that he is a completely different fighter.
“That’s my goal — for everyone to go, ‘That’s a completely different fighter,'” Ortega said to Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “And that’s a hard time. I’ve had a lot of years of bad habits. The last two years is basically reprogramming my damn self, to not do the things I like to do. That’s the test for me. I really want to change, I really want to grow, but I have to follow it, which is something I’m not used to. I had so much success with everything, it’s hard to go back.”
Ortega hasn’t competed since UFC 231 in December of 2018, where he suffered a fourth round TKO loss to then UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.
The rivalry between Ortega and Jung became personal after Ortega slapped Jay Park, who was Jung’s translator, but it’s a situation that Ortega has already put behind him.
“I already forgot about it,” Ortega said. “It’s only when you talk about it, OK, I’ll give you my side of the story. It’s over, man. It’s surprising, we have short-term memory fans. You fight and then two weeks later, they forget who you are. But you do something like this, they don’t forget. Let it go and enjoy the show.”
UFC Fight Island 6 is set for Saturday, October 17 from Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi with Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, while broadcast plans have yet to be revealed.
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