Co-Main Spotlight | Brian Ortega vs Aljamain Sterling

Once he entered the promotion as an undefeated 23-year-old, “T-City” quickly found his way into fans’ hearts for his all-action style and penchant for a comeback. Despite his well-earned reputation as a submission artist, Ortega seemed keener on getting into a slugfest, racking up four Fight of the Night bonuses in his first eight trips to the Octagon.

He charged his way up the featherweight rankings in style, and he parlayed his knockout win over Clay Guida at UFC 199 and submission victory over Renato Moicano at UFC 214 into marquee matchups with divisional legends. First came a main event with Cub Swanson, a fight that lasted eight-and-a-half minutes but felt like it had everything. Ortega pulled off one of his best submissions to date, jumping guillotine and, when he couldn’t secure the right grip at first, adjusting his hands mid-squeeze to finish Swanson. For his efforts, he earned both the Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses.

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Ortega got his big chance at contender status when he got a shot at former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 222. In the biggest fight of his life at that point, Ortega delivered his biggest statement as he finished Edgar with a massive uppercut in the first round, becoming the first man to stop “The Answer.” That result got him a shot at Max Holloway and the featherweight title at UFC 231. Unfortunately for him, “Blessed” turned in one of the best performances of his title reign, although Ortega still walked away with a Fight of the Night bonus. 

The bantamweight division has carved a reputation as one of the most talent-rich weight classes, with some of the toughest unranked pools, in the sport. Very rarely does a fighter, no matter how talented, make a fast rise into title contention at 135 pounds, and for Sterling, it took about five years to do just that.

The New York native got his UFC account to a bright start with a trio of finishes in his first three fights, but split decision losses to Bryan Caraway and Rafael Assunção stymied his momentum. He would bounce back with a pair of wins, but once again hit a speed bump in the form of a knockout loss to Marlon Moraes in December 2017. That result would prove pivotal for Sterling, and he would win his next four fights in the next two years to put him in a title-eliminator bout against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250. Instead of the fascinating stylistic clash most anticipated, Sterling loudly distinguished himself as the next man in line for the belt as he submitted Sandhagen less than 90 seconds into their fight.

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This led Sterling into his first bout with then-champion Petr Yan at UFC 259. Through three rounds, the fight was close, with two judges scoring the bout 29-28 for Yan while one had it 29-28 in favor of Sterling, but an illegal knee from “No Mercy” in the fourth round prompted a disqualification. In turn, Sterling secured the title. Oddly enough, it seemed more criticism was levied at the man who won the belt than the one who ended the fight with an illegal strike. They would do the dance again more than a year later at UFC 273, and this time, Sterling fought with a point to prove. The back-and-forth affair was razor-close, but Sterling did enough to defend his title via split decision.  

As far as the matchup inside the Octagon, it projects as a fascinating fight should it hit the canvas. Sterling, despite his wrestling credentials, isn’t a traditional American grappler. His long limbs and great strength give him a, for lack of a better term, funky style of grappling, but engaging with Ortega on the mat is a lethal game, as half of his 16 professional wins have come via submission. Sterling is a unique puzzle, and his back takes and control are elite, but Ortega has not yet tapped out of a fight.

On the feet, Ortega has the cleaner striking, and he has worked to clean up his boxing quite a bit ahead of this fight. Sterling, as he is when on the ground, is an offbeat striker. He has good low kicks and switches stances often, but he does strike more to get his hands on his foe.

Their respective skillsets should result in a highly technical chess match, and considering the high-stakes nature of the matchup, both in the division and to both of their career trajectories, there could be a slight sense of desperation for both men should the momentum start rolling in either direction.