Brian Ortega revealed that he underwent numerous surgeries that had him contemplating his fighting future.
Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) injured his shoulder in a first-round TKO loss to Yair Rodriguez at UFC on ABC 3 in July 2022. Ortega hasn’t fought since then, but will run things back with Rodriguez (16-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in a UFC Fight Night co-headliner Feb. 24 in Mexico City.
Ortega needed surgery to repair his shoulder which he injured in a grappling exchange vs. Rodriguez, but that wasn’t the only time he went under the knife during his layoff.
“We had a couple of surgeries, man, if I’m being honest,” Ortega told Kevin Iole. “Later on, I will open up about all of them. Yeah, it was a bit of a journey. It was a bit of a journey.”
After suffering plenty of damage in his title loss to Max Holloway in December 2018, Ortega didn’t fight in 2019, and has only fought once a year since then. Plagued with injuries in recent years, Ortega says things started to take a toll on him mentally.
“I have had this year to reflect on it where I would be lying if the questions didn’t come up: ‘Is it still worth it?’ Right, because for the first time in my life, I understood when people say, ‘I have kids – I can’t do this anymore,'” Ortega said. “I used to think, “Come on, man – of course we can. We are strong mentally.’
“It’s not even that. The smart thing about people is some of them look at it in the long run. If I’m moving already like I’m 60 years old, how am I really going to move when I’m 60? How is it going to be on (my kids), my family? I would be lying if that thought didn’t come up after doing a tally on how many surgeries I had in total.”
Despite the negative thoughts, Ortega’s love for fighting prevailed.
“The thoughts of retirement only arose after I listened to my feelings, not my logic – when I listened to my feelings,” Ortega said. “I got in depression or sadness took over because all I want to do is fight.”
