"They left me in boxers": Brian Ortega opens up about dangerous UFC Shanghai weight cut experience

Brian Ortega, the UFC Shanghai co-main event's headline act, took to social media to detail a recent weight cut experience that was so horrifying, it almost saw the bout canceled.

The featherweight feature star revealed that he had been knocked out for half an hour while he was cutting weight, regaining consciousness at a hospital with no recollection of how he got there. It went from what should have been a relatively simple process to something that nearly cost him his life, and left Ortega wondering whether he'd even be able to set foot in the Octagon again.

Brian Ortega’s weight cut nearly ends in disaster

Brian Ortega posted a video explaining that his weight cut to make featherweight became what he describes as an almost eight-hour process.

He and his crew started the slash at midnight and worked until eight in the morning, still 1.7 pounds higher than the 145-pound limit.

In desperation, Ortega ramped up efforts using sweat-inducing gear like plastics and Sweet Sweat, and pedaled on a stationary bike. But as soon as he stopped, he blacked out. “I was unconscious for about 30 minutes,” Ortega said. Ice was applied, his clothes removed, and he was left in his undies.

Some time later, he was in the emergency room. After the shock, Ortega and co continued on until the fight doctors re-evaluated him at weigh-ins.He further said: "During that time, they were putting ice on me, they took all my clothes off, they left me in boxers. I woke up in the E.R., I ripped everything off, I couldn't really speak, translate to them. I was like, if they don't take everything off, I'm going to take it off myself. We knew we had time limit to get to the weigh-ins, otherwise I could not fight. If you saw the weigh-ins, you obviously know I looked delirious, and just coming off 30 minutes of being unconscious in the tunnel. After that, weighed in. We figured if I didn't feel good or if something was seriously off, we would call the fight."

Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling moved to catchweight

This dangerous cut required a sudden reversal of course. The fight with Aljamain Sterling, first set at featherweight, was moved to a catchweight at 153 pounds, only two pounds shy of the lightweight division's limit.

Witnesses claimed there was an ambulance parked outside the fighter accommodation, suspected to have been taking Ortega.

Fortunately, he recovered sufficiently to continue, though the episode had fans and officials worrying about the hazards of extreme weight cutting in MMA.Also Read: “My visualization goes towards that”— Former interim featherweight champion teases his future plan ahead

Brian Ortega’s depleted performance in the fight

On August 23, the day the bout eventually went down at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, Brian Ortega looked worn out. Aljamain Sterling would use clean striking, proficient movement, and relentless pace to win each of the five rounds decisively.

Sterling won a unanimous decision from the judges, 50-45 on every scorecard.There wasn't going to be any offense for Ortega to mount, and it was, frankly, funeral-calm and energy-devoid and boring beyond the final horn. Ortega did manage to get back to his feet but was still recovering from the damage the weight cut had done to his body to make their fight competitive, making the contest very one-sided.