Brian Ortega, a former undefeated fighter and a dangerous submission artist in MMA, has faced some unlucky defeats in recent years. He lost to Max Holloway, one of the top fighters in the UFC featherweight division, in a title fight in December 2018, and has gone 1-2 in appearances post-Holloway, including a recent TKO loss to Yair Rodriguez after a shoulder injury.

Ortega has been hearing from contenders like Ilia Topuria, but he can’t fight until he recovers from his injury. The featherweight division is still filled with talented fighters, like interim champion Yair Rodriguez, and Alexander Volkanovski, who is looking for a rematch with Islam Makhachev after losing a decision. Ortega thinks Volkanovski will come out on top, but he’s excited to see how everything plays out. As for his return to the octagon, Ortega thinks the matchup with Topuria could be interesting, but he’s also open to a fight with Josh Emmett.