Ortega will never be champ

[dildos]

he will be champ, he has theskills, heart, grit and determination to get him there.

he nearly finished the champ 2 times in a round.

 

[OverhandRightKayo]

Nevuh

 

[HHJ]

He came very close.

Yes,he did.

 

[HHJ]

I dont think he will be the champion either,but its mean spirited to make this thread,TS.

I will now exit this thread through this mode of transportation.

 

[CPH]

It’s funny when you strive not to be that dickhead in any one circle of people where there’s always one dude who says so and so won’t ever be this or that…..the hater essentially ….. and then you author a thread like this and put it in writing


Ortega isn’t so far away from the title to say something like this He’s def top 3 in my book and can be champ on any given day Had he put Volk in those submissions in the earlier rounds where he was possibly fresher who knows Dude has big heart that’s for sure I wouldn’t bet against him nope

The champ material thing is really misunderstood by a lot of fans I feel.

There are guys out there who are so good that they will cut through bad matchups, injury, personal problems and in-fight mishaps to get that gold and hold on to it.

But there are also a lot of guys out there who just need to get the right matchups, at the right time. They can beat some of the best guys, on a good day. And if the UFC gives them that chance, they will capitalize.

There are many fighters whom the fans will at some point consider to be incredible, world beaters …only to turn on them later and act like they were never any good. In fact, they are both. A successful fighting career has a lot to do with riding waves of momentum (physical and mental) and about lining up the right fights.

The UFC understand this perfectly well. This is how they push certain fighters they like so effectively, even if they are lacking; momentum built through favorable matchups and hype goes a long way.

So circling back to Ortega: this is a guy who can very clearly be champ, under the right circumstances. To deny this is to fail to understand what I just explained above.

 

[capnlarge]

The UFC loves Ortega, so he will surely be given more opportunities to be champ. To me, saying he won't be champ is an unsafe bet

 

[GBJohn]

The same was said of both Blachowicz and Olivieira.

 

[El Fernas]

Ortega needs to do what Demian Maia did and train with a World Class Striking Coach such as Rafael Cordeiro of Kings MMA (formerly of Chute Boxe), His striking is awkward IMHO and he has absolutely zero striking defense aside from using his face. Just needs a fine tune and he should be able to FINALLY win that elusive UFC FW strap.

This, and he might actually get it, has great BJJ but never tries to take the opponent down.

 

[JonJonesNeedle]

If I recall correctly, KZ said he doesn't remember anything from the fight after the spinning elbow in the second round. It was pretty close up to that point and afterwards Brian had his way with him. I think watching Ortega beat up an actual zombie for 3+ rounds lead people to think he was on a level that matched Volk and Max but he's not quite there.

This is exactly what I've been saying. Ppl think Ortega improved leaps and bounds, but truth is that he just hit KZ with a great shot early and KZ was pretty much out on his feet for the rest of the fight. And even then Ortega couldn't KO or Sub the already finished KZ even though he had 3+ rounds to do so.

If they rematched I'd favor KZ.

 

[OverhandRightKayo]

I dont think he will be the champion either,but its mean spirited to make this thread,TS.

I will now exit this thread through this mode of transportation.

Son.

Show the real backflip.

 

[BluntForceTrama]

This is exactly what I've been saying. Ppl think Ortega improved leaps and bounds, but truth is that he just hit KZ with a great shot early and KZ was pretty much out on his feet for the rest of the fight. And even then Ortega couldn't KO or Sub the already finished KZ even though he had 3+ rounds to do so.

If they rematched I'd favor KZ.

Wow you’re totally overlooking nuance here
KZ tends to sit in front like a brick with zero feinting and head movement Unless he becomes a whiz at this and at this age that’s extremely unlikely, Ortega will have his way with him again He’ll get destroyed

I’m already not to big a fan of this cleaned up Fight Ready version of KZ It’s going to be very hard to change KZ drastically further at this point in his career

 

[OverhandRightKayo]

Baby Orteegy

 

[slavomir]

Part of me doesn't want to take away credit for Ortega's performance that fight but another part of me really wonders if KZ just showed up that shitty that night.

Kz is battle worn.

 

[Unfinished Sentenc]

That's ludacris

 

[Coconutwater]

Maybe not but let's celebrate the mans grit. Coming back to win the last round after getting thumped on in the two previous rounds is nothing short of amazing. Elite fighters are just built different.

Ortega winning the 5th is like Conor winning the 4th against Khabib, the other fighter knew he was winning by a good margin and was willing to coast. Boxers do it all the time to not waste energy, they only sharpen if they feel they’re being truly threatened during the “off” round.

 

[13Seconds]

Ortega winning the 5th is like Conor winning the 4th against Khabib, the other fighter knew he was winning by a good margin and was willing to coast. Boxers do it all the time to not waste energy, they only sharpen if they feel they’re being truly threatened during the “off” round.

It doesn't make sense to coast to manage energy in the last round. Because why? There's no future rounds to worry about. Volk comes across as an honest dude, so when he says Ortega took that round (not Volk just giving it to him) im inclined to believe him.

Besides, you never actually know with judges. That was probably the most competitive 50-45 fight i've ever seen.

 

[KillerIsBack V2]

We need a "beat an Ortega" day.

I beat my ortega everyday!

 

[The Chosen]

if your base is BJJ you have to develop world class striking or wrestling, like what Charles and Anderson did. His striking just isn’t up to par

 

[fortheo]

More than that. Out of the top FW I would confidently pick Giga and Zabit (assuming he is not retired) to beat Ortega. Guys like Cattar, Yair, Edson would give him a tough fight as well. At the moment he has a god-tier chin but the moment it gets cracked (probably in not too long the way he fights) it is going to be a quick downfall.

Giga's TDD is questionable, and he's a fish on dry land when it's on the mat. Ortega has landed takedowns on max, Volk, and KZ...all guys with far above average TDD. I wouldn't be confident that giga could beat ortega. Guys like kattar and zabit who have a wrestling base and proven TDD stand a better chance against Ortega imo.

That said, I agree with your notion that ortega is probably a bit overrated. He's still a legit top 10 guy, but o do not believe best the third best guy in the division.

 

[Satan's Daddy.]

I like his chances at 155, despite the competition not being easier since Dustin bested Max twice too. So I can see your perspective. He could be an interm champ but ufc only gives those opportunities to fighters they favour due to their popularity usually over their performances.