Brian Ortega revealed that he went through several medical procedures that made him question his future in the sport.
Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) injured his shoulder in a first-round TKO defeat against Yair Rodriguez at UFC on ABC 3 in July 2022. Since then, Ortega has not competed, but he will have a rematch with Rodriguez (16-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in a co-headlining bout at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 24 in Mexico City.
During his time off, Ortega underwent surgery to fix his injured shoulder, which occurred during a grappling exchange with Rodriguez. However, this was not the only time he had to go under the knife.
“We had multiple surgeries, my friend, if I’m being honest,” Ortega told Kevin Iole. “I will share more details about them at a later time. It was quite a journey, I must say.”
After sustaining significant damage in his title loss to Max Holloway in December 2018, Ortega did not compete in 2019 and has only fought once per year since then. Dealing with a series of injuries in recent years, Ortega admits that it started to take a toll on him mentally.
“I had this year to reflect on everything, and I would be lying if I didn’t question whether it’s still worth it,” Ortega said. “For the first time, I truly understood when people say, ‘I have children – I can’t continue doing this.’ I used to think, ‘Come on, we’re mentally strong, we can handle it.’
“But it’s not just about mental strength. Wise individuals consider the long-term effects. If I’m already moving like a 60-year-old, how will I be moving when I actually reach that age? How will it affect my children and my family? I would be lying if I didn’t have those thoughts after tallying up the total number of surgeries I’ve had.”
Despite these negative thoughts, Ortega’s passion for fighting ultimately prevailed.
“The thoughts of retirement only emerged when I followed my emotions, not my logic – when I listened to my feelings,” Ortega explained. “I fell into depression or sadness because all I want to do is fight.”
According to the Source mmajunkie.usatoday.com