The last 18 months or so were anything but fun for Brian Ortega, an easy-going guy who loves nothing more than displaying his talents in the Octagon and playing with his children.
But in the pursuit of greatness in MMA, Ortega has sacrificed his body. As he recovered from the injuries he suffered during a July 16, 2022, bout in New York with Yair Rodriguez, Ortega thought about his children, his family and the way his body felt. He wondered for a while if he was making the right choice to go forward in his MMA career.
"I would be lying if I said the question didn't come up, 'Is it still worth it?' " Ortega said. "For the first time in my life, I understood what they meant when people said, 'I have kids. I can't do this any more.' I used to think, 'Come on, man! Of course we can. We're strong mentally.' I think what is smart about some of these people is that look at the long run, right? If I'm moving already like I'm 60 years old, how am I really going to move when I'm 60? How are my kids going to be and how is it going to be on them? How's it going to be on my family?
"I would be lying if I said the thought didn't come up as I was doing a tally of all of the surgeries I've had."
Ortega is known to have dislocated his right shoulder in his bout with Rodriguez, but it turns out, he told KevinIole.com that has had additional surgeries in the interim. He said he would talk about them more after his rematch Saturday with Ortiz in the main event of UFC Mexico City on Saturday.
But the shoulder dislocation wasn't the only surgery he underwent after being stopped by Rodriguez.
Ortega is ranked fourth at featherweight, one spot behind Rodriguez, the former interim champion who sits at No. 3. It's a critical fight for both of them, but it almost didn't happen. The injuries and the surgeries had Ortega contemplating retirement.
He admitted that he was depressed as he thought of all he's gone through.
The fan base is often supportive but loves to kick one when he or she is down. And Ortega struggled to understand why he was being bashed as he was rehabilitating from his injuries. The criticism and the slings and arrows bothered him immensely and caused him to consider walking away from doing what he loves the most.
"This depression, this sadness took over because all I want to do is fight," Ortega said. "You're going through these battles that people have no idea you're fighting. You're trying to be positive and tell everyone like, 'Guys, I'm coming back,' and they just make fun of you or push you down. You start to think like, 'Man, I am grateful for you guys because I have a job and you guys provide me with one. But I'm also discouraged by how negative you guys can be to fighters such as myself when we're trying to come back for you guys.'
"We live to entertain you guys, right. We obviously make our money and stuff like that so we can take care of our families and that's a perk of the job. But you know, we go out to entertain you guys and we go to war and like you said, we sacrifice our bodies to this. And I finally came to terms with the fact that, I love the fans and I appreciate them but I do this because I'm a protector and provider for my family."
"You're going through these battles that people have no idea you're fighting. You're trying to be positive and tell everyone like, 'Guys, I'm coming back,' and they just make fun of you or push you down. You start to think like, 'Man, I am grateful for you guys because I have a job and you guys provide me with one. But I'm also discouraged by how negative you guys can be to fighters." -- UFC featherweight Brian Ortega on dealing with fan criticism
Ortega turns 33 tomorrow and said he knows that time will eventually catch up to him. But he said he believes he can recreate the best version of himself and still compete at the highest level.
That's a critical point because if he can't get there, it's going to be hard to compete with elite featherweights such as new champion Ilia Topuria, Rodriguez, and former champions Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway, among others. He has recovered from the surgeries and said because of the knowledge he's gained, he is better than he has ever been.
"Mother Time gets us all," he said. "That just is what it is. But my time is not done. Physically and mentally and everything speaking, I'm better than I was when I was younger in terms of my strength, my [personal records]. Everything I used to do -- I have a record of all my stuff -- so I always compare myself. A big thing I do is, the new Brian has to beat the old Brian, and he always has."
The key, of course, is going out and doing it and doing it against a guy who is one of the elite in the world. But that's what fighters sign up for and Ortega accepts the challenge.
"This is what I love to do," he says.
And he's going to continue to do that until, well, he feels like he's in his 60s even when he's at this best.