VID Brian Ortega - Below The Belt w/ Brendan Schaub
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Can't watch now - but Sandhu posted this quote:
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/SandhuMMA/status/1019931735822389251
This changes my outlook on interim belts entirely. I thought the person defending an interim belt would get ppv points etc, so at least someone would be making more money. If this is not the case, then insert Matt Serra meme.
*Brian is doing the right thing. They shouldn't get to market him as a champ without paying for it.
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/SandhuMMA/status/1019931735822389251
This changes my outlook on interim belts entirely. I thought the person defending an interim belt would get ppv points etc, so at least someone would be making more money. If this is not the case, then insert Matt Serra meme.
*Brian is doing the right thing. They shouldn't get to market him as a champ without paying for it.
It must be true as I don’t see why Ortega would lie about it publicly.....If it was false he would get shredded up by Dana
So, this means that the wme thinks these interim belts are all about getting dad Ralph to tell wife Bertha that he wants to watch the fights tonight because there’s an interim belt on the line and it’s a “must see”.....even though Ralph knows fuck all about the sport but it’s cool to talk about it and he’ll buy the ppv because it’s the cool thing to do
So, this means that the wme thinks these interim belts are all about getting dad Ralph to tell wife Bertha that he wants to watch the fights tonight because there’s an interim belt on the line and it’s a “must see”.....even though Ralph knows fuck all about the sport but it’s cool to talk about it and he’ll buy the ppv because it’s the cool thing to do
Brian Ortega has already come out and defended his decision not to accept a replacement fight at UFC 226 after featherweight champ Max Holloway’s sudden withdrawal from their scheduled co-headliner.
The way Ortega sees it, he isn’t a “yes man.” And that hint of defiance adds intrigue when hearing him recall his meeting with UFC President Dana White to inform him that he wouldn’t fight Jeremy Stephens for an interim title on three days’ notice.
Two things are important to note here: 1) The meeting took place not long after Daniel Cormier fell on stage during the UFC 226 pre-event press conference, which briefly sent everyone in a panic. 2) Ortega wasn’t alone for this meeting; his team was with him.
With that in mind, here’s how the meeting went down, according to Ortega (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) during an appearance on “Below The Belt” with Brendan Schaub.
Brian Ortega details meeting with 'pretty pissed off' Dana White after UFC 226 co-headliner fell apart
“(White) was pretty pissed off. He was just in a bad mood,” Ortega said. “Fight fell through, I didn’t realize DC just fell on the stage. And then he walks in this meeting, and I’m over here telling him, ‘Hey, man, I’m not going to fight.’ Like, I’m holding my ground. I said, ‘Listen, with all due respect, I stepped in and fought (Thiago) Tavares on two weeks’ notice, I stepped in and fought Frankie (Edgar) on three weeks’ notice, and I stepped in to try to fight Khabib (Nurmagomedov) on six days’ notice.’ I go, ‘It’s not a scared issue. It’s not that I’m not down for the company.’ I go, ‘Now it’s just, I finished everyone you told me to. Every single person you put in front of me, I took their heads out, like Conor (McGregor) says, and I put them on your (expletive) doorstep.’ I go, ‘And that earned me a title shot. Now that I’m here, why go anywhere else besides forward?'”
Which is reasonable logic. So what was White’s response to that?
“He put on his promoter hat,” Ortega said. “He’s like, ‘Listen, man, just fight. Blah, blah, blah, we’ll work something out.’ And then I was like, ‘We don’t need to work anything out. I want Max Holloway, or I want the belt.’ He says, ‘I’m going to see if we can do an interim fight.’ I was like, ‘I’m not fighting for a fake belt. It looks cool, but it’s not the real belt, doesn’t get you the real – there’s no real money involved with that one, nothing that really goes on in terms of being the champion. You just get something that says I’m in first place. It just says I’m next in line for the belt.’ Which is like, I’m already here, right? You just want to put something shiny around my waist to make me feel better. I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to do it.'”
Which is reasonable logic. So what was White’s response to that?
“He put on his promoter hat,” Ortega said. “He’s like, ‘Listen, man, just fight. Blah, blah, blah, we’ll work something out.’ And then I was like, ‘We don’t need to work anything out. I want Max Holloway, or I want the belt.’ He says, ‘I’m going to see if we can do an interim fight.’ I was like, ‘I’m not fighting for a fake belt. It looks cool, but it’s not the real belt, doesn’t get you the real – there’s no real money involved with that one, nothing that really goes on in terms of being the champion. You just get something that says I’m in first place. It just says I’m next in line for the belt.’ Which is like, I’m already here, right? You just want to put something shiny around my waist to make me feel better. I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to do it.'”
Ortega said. “He’s like, ‘Listen, man, just fight. Blah, blah, blah, we’ll work something out.’ And then I was like, ‘We don’t need to work anything out."
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His job is to entertain UFC audiences through fighting, he refused to do that.
If his contract stipulated he'd be paid regardless then fair play to him but I can't fault Dana for wanting to deliver the best possible product to the audience.
Conor fought Mendes on short notice and his stock only continued to skyrocket, how team Ortega have managed to ignore this is odd.
If his contract stipulated he'd be paid regardless then fair play to him but I can't fault Dana for wanting to deliver the best possible product to the audience.
Conor fought Mendes on short notice and his stock only continued to skyrocket, how team Ortega have managed to ignore this is odd.