“Freak Accident, and It Just Sucks”- Brian Ortega Laments TKO Injury Loss to Yair Rodriguez, Believes He Was Winning ‘Every Minute of the Fight’
UFC featherweight Brian Ortega spoke out following his TKO loss to Yair Rodriguez at UFC Long Island, which came after he suffered a dislocated shoulder. The end of the fight came in the very first round of what was turning out to be a hyper-competitive bout.
Both men were looking to bounce back from losses they suffered in their previous fight and the unfortunate ending put a wet blanket on one of the most anticipated match-ups of the second half of the year.
“Hopefully next time we see each other it’s for the title. … I hope you recover quickly.”
Yair Rodriguez to Brian Ortega in Spanish post fight. #UFCLongIsland pic.twitter.com/uOkbFARS09
— Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv) July 16, 2022
Brian Ortega labeled the defeat as a ‘freak accident’ and was disappointed that he suffered a dislocation despite there being no armlock secured by ‘El Pantera’. Moreover, he was confident that he was well on his way to winning the fight and lamented on the fact that this incident occurred for the first time in his career.
Brian Ortega apologizes to Yair Rodriguez family: “I’m sorry this happened” @ESPNDeportes #UFCLongIsland pic.twitter.com/EsdgwPOI2H
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi 🦁 (@CCLegaspi) July 16, 2022
“[Rodriguez’s] grip was tight on my arm and it dislocated, and that was it. Like, no armlock, no nothing, but it just dislocated. Freak accident, and it just sucks,” Ortega said Saturday on the UFC Long Island post-fight show. “It’s the first time it’s ever happened in my entire career. That was the first time it’s ever happened and now I’m kind of like taken aback by it. I can’t believe this is what’s going on right now.”
Brian Ortega is hoping to run it back with Yair Rodriguez after his injury at #UFCLongIsland pic.twitter.com/RevATEmEfq
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 17, 2022
“Everything was going my way. Literally, I was winning every minute of the fight. I was sticking to the game plan, because I do get emotional. For one second we started hitting, we started throwing, and I was like, ‘Alright, let’s start throwing,’ and I go, ‘No, let’s just stick to the game plan.’ And the world saw — I was about to show what I do best, which is grapple and take control. And the second we hit the ground, it just, my freaking arm just f****** came out. And I’ve got no words, man. I don’t know.” [h/t mmafighting.com]
Brian Ortega will look to run it back with Rodriguez at the first opportunity he gets as he prides himself on his prowess on the mat. However, the extent of his shoulder injury is unclear and he could be looking at a long lay-off moving forward.
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