On Saturday, the UFC returns to Toronto for the sixth time in promotional history, staging a featherweight championship fight between Max Holloway and Brian Ortega.
The two are the premier 145-pound fighters in the world. Holloway is 19-3, lifting the belt a year ago in Toronto. Ortega is undefeated (14-0) and known for a savage submission game on the ground, submitting eight men in his career.
During the UFC 231 Media Scrum, Ortega said he found Holloway’s ground game as good as “any solid guy” with a brown or black belt. But it just can’t compared to his own:
“There’s levels to this,” he said. “My ground skills are pretty deadly. There’s some things that you can only learn with time—and that’s what I have on him.”
Ortega received his black belt from Rener Gracie, who of course traces his lineage back to the very roots of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Currently even-money to dethrone Holloway on Saturday at the Rogers Centre, Ortega mentioned how dedicated he is to winning the strap, even missing birthdays and holidays in preparation for leaving the cage victorious.
