Ortega captures mainstream attention again

After nearly two years out of the spotlight, nobody really knew what to expect from Brian Ortega. No one predicted what we saw on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi.

Fighting in the main event of the UFC’S penultimate Fight Island card of 2020, Ortega returned to the octagon and looked like a more polished, battle- ready version of the fighter who skyrocketed up the featherweight rankings in 2017 and ’18.

In a five- round decision over Chan Sung Jung, better known as The Korean Zombie, Ortega’s striking was surprisingly crisp and even when he struggled to take Jung down, the Californian still inflicted damage with his attempts.

Here are five take- aways from Saturday night’s fight card:

1 Next, the title

Ortega was already listed as the No. 2 contender in the UFC’S 145- pound division prior to Saturday night, behind only Max Holloway.

Holloway has already lost twice to champion Alexander Volkanovski, so there’s no question Ortega should get the next crack at the Australian featherweight king.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to put some money down on Ortega getting the job done. The man who fought inside the octagon on Saturday looked completely different from the guy dominated by Holloway in late 2018.

Yes, his offence was more refined, but he was also significantly smarter defensively.

A more patient, thoughtful Ortega is a terrifying opponent for anyone.

2 Nothing to be ashamed of

Sung takes his losses personally, and posted on Instagram that he was “ashamed” of his performance.

With all due respect to his competitive spirit, that’s absurd.

Sung remains a top featherweight and will be taking on a top 5 opponent whenever he fights next. Was it a little strange that he was so hesitant to get inside of Ortega’s range and unleash one of his vintage barrage of punches? Maybe, but he also got hit with some punishing blows throughout the bout.

As we learned later in the night in the boxing ring when Teofimo Lopez upset Vasiliy Lomachenko to unify the world lightweight championship, even best- in- class fighters can get a little gun- shy against the craftiest opponents.

Sung will be back.

3 Keeps doing it

Jessica Andrade remains criminally underappreciated.

On Saturday, the Brazilian became the first woman to win three fights in three UFC weight classes when she ran through Katlyn Chookagian.

The fight ended with a nasty body shot, but it sets up what could be an intriguing women’s flyweight championship fight.

There’s a feeling like there’s nobody who can offer a real challenge to 125- pound champion Valentina Shevchenko right now. The champ is just that far ahead of the pack.

But maybe Andrade could be the one? She’s already held the women’s strawweight belt and has put up consistently compelling fights against big- name fighters. Andrade looked terrific against Chookagian and her resumé should be enough that she could cut to the head of the flyweight line.

4 Here and there

The rest of Saturday’s card was largely only going to get attention from hardcore fans. The Lopez- Lomachenko boxing match was getting most of the mainstream combat sports world’s attention. But there were a few interesting results.

Thomas Almeida’s decline continued with a decision loss to Jonathan Martinez.

James Krause continued his steady climb with a win over Claudio Silva, while Jim Crute looked great with a performance of the night showing against Modestas Bukauskas.

5 Here we go

Next Saturday, the UFC is throwing its biggest fight of the year.

When lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov steps into the octagon to take on Justin Gaethje, it’s as compelling a matchup as we’ve seen in years.

Both guys are big stars and there’s a real sense that Gaethje could be the biggest threat Nurmagomedov has faced.

Gaethje’s tough, has great takedown defence and is capable of taking a beating before obliterating his opponent. Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, has dominated every opponent he’s ever faced.

Either way, next Saturday the UFC is doing what it does best, and that’s pitting two of the world’s best against one another and seeing what happens.