In almost the blink of an eye, Brian Ortega went from a fighter who had an unprecedented series of comeback wins but looked overmatched against a legitimate top-tier contender, to a fighter very close to a title shot.
Ortega (13-0, 1 NC) was losing the stand up game to Cub Swanson (25-8), until he went for a jumping guillotine, was losing it, secured the grip, and got Swanson to tap out at 3:22 of the second round in the main event of Saturday’s first UFC event ever held in Fresno, Calif.
But Ortega said that Frankie Edgar, who was injured and missed his scheduled title match with Max Holloway last weekend in Detroit, is the one who deserves the next title shot, saying he doesn’t want to leapfrog Edgar.
“I’m still trying to figure it out,” Ortega said when asked what was next for him. “I know Frankie got injured. I’m not sure how long it’ll take to patch him up again. I’m respectful for the shot he’s earned. Hopefully he recovers, he’ll have a speedy recovery and fights Holloway. Hopefully, maybe I’ll get the winner of that. If not, I’ll keep doing what I'm doing.”
Both in the cage after what was his defining career win, and afterward, Ortega also spoke of being able to use the star status he’ll get for winning the main event and being in line for a title shot to help others.
“I really want to help people out,” he said. “I want to use this time and this life to not just have it on me, but to use this time, they invested a lot of money to promote me. I want to help people out. I’m not the perfect person, but I have the perfect heart and want to help people who are down and out. I’ve been there.
“I’ve been doing charity work since I’m 20 years old and now I want to help kids.”