UFC 298: Brian Ortega Reacts to Ilia Topuria's Retirement Insults

Brian Ortega thinks Ilia Topuria is getting a little ahead of himself.

The top contender is knocking on the door for featherweight gold as he takes on current champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. Topuria's confidence has never been higher as he tackles his first UFC title opportunity this Saturday.

Before the fight in Anaheim, Topuria is already planning out a future as a UFC Champion. It turns out 'El Matador' is a bit picky, ruling out future fights with some of the division's elite, including #4 ranked 'T-City'. 

Of course, the undefeated Topuria first has to dethrone Volkanovski --- who is also unbeaten at 145lbs --- if he wants to get to that point.

Ortega thinks Topuria's plans will be spoiled, in some way or another. 

"Well, one, you have to win the belt for that to happen," Ortega told Shakiel Mahjouri. "So, that was my first thought. Then, my second thought was like, if you're not gonna give us any [chances], let's say you do win the belt and you're not gonna give us a shot, then I'm gonna make sure I ruin every contender, simple as that.

"One, you have to win. And two, I'm going to take all the contenders away from you, bro. If you don't want to fight us, then I'll take all of your people."

A former title challenger himself, Ortega sees some similarities with rising contender Topuria ahead of his first title fight vs. Volkanovski. 

"I think it's gonna be a great fight," Ortega said of Volkanovski vs. Topuria. "I think it always reaches a point, right? Even when I face Max where it's like you have this, I think almost at the same time, 14-0, undefeated guy, six fights, I had I think six finishes on my [UFC record], and everyone's was like, damn... And then you go up a level. And then you face the champ. "

Ortega knows the champion all too well as he almost put an end to Volkanovski's reign at UFC 266 with tight submission attempts, but ultimately came up short of the world championship that night in 2021.

We'll see if Topuria can do any better, come this weekend.

"There's always that question of is he ready or is he not. Skillfully? Yes. He's looked good against the people he's faced. Technically sound, full package, right? When it comes to striking wrestling, jiujitsu, everything. You can't look at him and say he has one full weakness that's exploited. He doesn't have that. He's well standing on the ground or whatever. 

"But I do believe that guys such as Volk provide or have a different type of level of chess game. That's why these fights are amazing to watch, right? Because you have someone who's confident, someone who already speaking, as if he's already the champ and defended it three times. And then you have the guy who's actually been at the top of the mountain and just kicking everyone down. So this is a good fight personally, even as a fan like it's a good fight.

"A lot of questions will be answered after this weekend, but it's hard to go against Volk," Ortega concluded. 

Brian Ortega faces fellow top contender Yair Rodriguez in a potential title eliminator at UFC Mexico City later this month.

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