Canada Sports News

• Brian Ortega defeated Chan Sung Jung at the UFC Fight Night 180.
• After 22 months of absence, the American was back into the octagon.
• Ortega plans to challenge the UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Hungry Ortega Comes Back

Brian Ortega beat the Korean Zombie tonight via unanimous decision, posting his first win after 31 months. The American was better after a unanimous decision and a pretty strong performance.

All three judges scored 50-45 for Ortega, who didn’t show any ring rust, looking very well and alive in the octagon. He had a few situations where Jung inflicted him a couple of hard punches but ate that without a problem.

After the fight, the former title challenger wanted to remind everyone that he still plans to win the belt, regardless of his past troubles.

“I was counted out,” Ortega stated. “I understand, you leave the game for two years, you get counted out. I’m here to remind everyone. It felt great to have this happen again, having your hand raised at this level is important, it’s the No. 1 thing.”

There were no problems for him in this bout. Ortega constantly pressured Jung, who founded himself on the ground on a couple of occasions. The first time the American sent him to the canvas was in the second round, and the cause for that was a spinning elbow. Up to that point, Jung was on the surge, inflicting Ortega several pretty nasty combos and creating a big swing.

However, the response from the other side was unexpected, and the Korean had to fight for his life until the end of the round. It was the belt that saved Jung, who didn’t have any chances of winning the match after that.

Ortega’s clever tactic, which included stiff jabs and body shots, was maintaining the distance between two rivals, and each time Jung tried to make a push, he would receive a harsh response from the other side.

“This is the first time I’ve ever had a true game plan, had MMA coaches, not just this coach, that coach,” the American stressed out.

Volkanovski or Not?

The media and the fans all predict that Ortega’s next opponent might be Alexander Volkanovski, the current UFC champion. He, too, sparked the imagination of all the MMA community members with an interview after the event.

“Today I tried to do the best I could, to mix everything up, and show everyone I’m back. We’re going to find out if I’m ready (for Volkanovski). In this game, you take chances.”

Even though it might be tempting for Ortega to attack the title right away, being almost two years outside the ring is putting a big question mark on that choice.

We saw Alexander Volkanovski beating Max Holloway, twice. Just to remind you all, the only defeat Ortega suffered in his career was against Holloway, who pretty much dominated in that fight.

That is why T-City needs to think very carefully before he picks the next bout. Otherwise, if he makes the wrong choice, the consequences might be damaging for his future.