Brian Ortega reveals what he was thinking during the fourth round against Max Holloway

Brian Ortega hasn’t competed in a professional MMA bout since his brutal TKO loss at the hands of Max Holloway back in December of 2018.

However, Ortega has continued training and honing his skills in order to revitalize his combat arsenal and make another run at the UFC Featherweight Title.

Brian Ortega was bruised going into the fourth round against Max Holloway

In an interview with ESPN (courtesy: Brett Okamoto), top-ranking UFC Featherweight Brian Ortega opened up on a myriad of topics.

Ortega explained that going into the fourth round of his UFC Featherweight Title fight against Max Holloway, the former had already suffered a broken (dislocated) thumb, whereas his other hand had been fractured.

“T-City” added that while certain sections of the MMA community later questioned him as to why he didn’t go for a takedown in that round, he couldn’t have executed a takedown as he was unable to utilize his hands effectively. In fact, Ortega pointed out that he wasn’t even able to use his thumbs by that stage of the fight.

Brian Ortega further said that his nose was broken, eye swollen shut, and he was going into the fourth round of the fight while lacking adequate energy to do so.

Ortega continued that at this point in the matchup, he was of the view that Holloway would either have to knock him out or kill him because the former wasn’t going to stop regardless of all the troubles he was faced with. T-City stated –

“I still believe in myself that I’ll make something happen. I’m gonna find some magic, and I’m gonna go in there. And I would eat 10 or 12 shots. I know I was eating them.”

“But if you put your hands up, he hits your thumb and it hurts – You put your hand down and he hits your face; it wasn’t that bad.”

(*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription; video courtesy: ESPN)

Furthermore, Brian Ortega asserted that he chose the option that hurt less, which is why he took Holloway’s strikes to his face rather than raise his hands to block them.

Moreover, Ortega revealed that Holloway has good striking, but the latter’s power was lower in comparison to other fighters whom T-City had faced in the past.

"Everyone was like 'Why don't you do a takedown?' F---, if I had hands, I could try more, but I don't even have thumbs at this point."The thoughts that ran through @BrianTcity's mind during the fourth round against Max Holloway are next-level tough 😳 (via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/EJtUt0xw1R

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 2, 2020

Brian Ortega is excited about his fight against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung

Brian Ortega was involved in an altercation with fellow top-tier UFC Featherweight Chan Sung Jung’s translator and Korean American rapper Jay Park back in March of this year.

Ortega had allegedly slapped Park, following which the trio was embroiled in a controversy regarding the altercation.

Ortega has emphasized that he’d like to move on from the incident and that the fans, as well as UFC President Dana White, want to see the former and The Korean Zombie settle their differences inside the Octagon.

Brian Ortega faces Chan Sung Jung in the headlining bout of UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie on October 17th, 2020.

Which fighter do you think will emerge victorious? Sound off in the comments!