‘I Was Training in a Garage’- Brian Ortega Reveals He Didn’t Know About Muay Thai and Wrestling Before Facing Max Holloway

Posted on by Matt James

Two-time featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega spoke to Jimmy Smith and revealed the painful moments following his first loss in MMA that made him re-assess his entire career. ‘T-City’ received a masterclass in striking at the hands of Max Holloway and he was brutally TKO’ed before the final bell could sound off.

Ortega would take a two-year long hiatus before coming back to demolish ‘The Korean Zombie’ and prove to fans that he is indeed a top-tier talent. However, the journey was most certainly challenging and Brian Ortega bared it all in a candid interview with Smith on ‘Fight Nation’.

“I would go back to enjoying my life as I called it and it wasn’t until I lost then it made me reassess everything. When I reassessed everything is when I said, ‘Dude, I f****** suck. Like, I suck. I thought I was good because I was winning but then these guys at the top, they’re a different level. They’re doing other things.”

“What’re they doing? What am I missing? I have the skills to be a UFC fighter but I don’t have the skills nor the discipline or consistency to be at the top. And if I gotta do that, I gotta change a lot of things about my life.’

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Ortega also talked about how he was training in a garage and concepts like Muay Thai and wrestling were foreign to him during his come-up. Seeing such a brutally honest assessment is sure to move many MMA fans, and it is remarkable to see how far he has come in his UFC career.

“After that [Holloway loss], I said, ‘Oh, wow, there’s — wrestling exists. Muay Thai exists,’” Ortega said. “I know it sounds stupid, but I had no idea none of this existed. I was training in a garage. I would just hit the bag, do a couple mitts, lift some weights, wake up. Not have no nutrition, pre-workout for breakfast. All the way until the title, that’s what people don’t understand.” [h/t mmafighting.com]

Despite going 0-2 in title fights, Brian Ortega is looking to catapult himself back into the title picture when he takes on Yair Rodriguez this Saturday.

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