LAS VEGAS – The UFC 303 co-main event between top featherweights Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes is no longer taking place at 145 pounds.
Before Friday morning’s official weigh-ins began, it was announced that Ortega vs. Lopes had been changed to a lightweight bout. Lopes was among the first fighters to weigh in and made 155; Ortega followed about 40 minutes later and also hit 155.
You can watch both men step on the scale in the video above.
According to “The MMA Hour” host Ariel Helwani, the reason for the change was Ortega. Helwani reported that Ortega, who said in an interview with MMA Junkie that he was in the midst of planning a move to lightweight when he got the short-notice call for UFC 303, was struggling to get down to 146 and couldn’t get past 151. Helwani said the UFC called Lopes at 3:30 a.m. local time to say Ortega needed to rehydrate and that the fight would be off unless he agreed to lightweight, which he did.
Lopes gave his account on X.
Diego Lopes on switch to 155 for fight vs. Brian Ortega:
"146 pounds last night. At 4 a.m. my manager woke me up with the phone in hand while on call with the UFC, who were asking if we could take the fight at 155 pounds because my opponent wasn't going to make weight. All I… pic.twitter.com/FD6LiOkULZ
— Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv) June 28, 2024
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
