Brian Ortega says Max Holloway rematch “would be ideal” should he beat Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266

By Adam D Martin - September 19, 2021

UFC featherweight Brian Ortega says the Max Holloway rematch “would be ideal” should he beat Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266.

Brian Ortega

Ortega steps back into the Octagon next Saturday night at UFC 266 when he battles Volkanovski for the 145lbs title. For Ortega, he is coming off of a dominant decision win over The Korean Zombie last year that showed he is still one of the best featherweights in the world. The fight with TKZ was the first for Ortega since December 2018 when he stopped by Holloway at UFC 231 in what was his only professional MMA loss. For Ortega, he is still hoping that he gets the chance to one day fight Holloway and avenge the loss.

Speaking to TMZ Sports ahead of UFC 266, Ortega admitted that a rematch against Holloway “would be ideal” if he gets by Volkanovski next weekend. While Ortega was quick to say that he is not looking past the champ by any means, because he is such a competitor at heart, he wants to get back the one defeat that he’s had in his career. So if Ortega beats Volkanovski and Holloway brings Yair Rodriguez, Ortega wants the rematch.

“That would be ideal. I’m not trying to speak ahead nor am I trying to get past Volkanovski, because he beat Max twice. So I’m not sitting here to say I’ve already started celebrating. But that would be ideal,” Ortega said of a rematch against Holloway. “I’m a better person and a better fighter than when I fought him, and watching his last fight, so is he. You always want that as a fighter, as a competitor, to make that sh*t square. Or to say, ‘yo dog, you legitimately got the best of me, good sh*t.'”

Do you think Brian Ortega will defeat Alexander Volkanovski and that we will see the rematch with Max Holloway for the 145lbs belt?