Featherweight contender Brian Ortega has confirmed that he has been compensated by the UFC following his scrapped UFC 226 showdown with Max Holloway.
UFC president Dana White found himself in the crosshairs once again when it emerged that he had refused to compensate the originally scheduled co-main event headliner Ortega following Max Holloway’s late withdrawal from their featherweight title clash.
Speaking on an episode of Below the Belt with Brendan Schaub, Ortega broke down how he was told in the direct aftermath of his Hawaiian rival’s pullout that he would not be paid for showing up and making weight.
It would have no doubt been a tough pill to swallow for the unbeaten ‘T-City’ but according to a recent interview following his chat with Brendan Schaub, things have been sorted out behind the scenes.
Speaking to AXS TV, Ortega confirmed that the UFC have compensated him for his efforts following a period of uncertainty over that being the case.
Any fight for the title – that’s it. That’s all I’m looking at. I’m just looking at that gold, that belt. For me, it doesn’t matter the opponent.
“I’m feeling a lot better now. The heartbreak was a little bit real at first, but then once I started to realize the bigger picture and everything – and I had to put my ego aside and put my thinking cap on in terms of businesswise – we made the right decision.
“I talked to Dana just the other day, and everything is good between me and him. He compensated me – we reached an agreement.”
This is refreshing to see. The financial costs and the time and effort that goes into a fighter’s training camp are often underappreciated and for Ortega, the losses made because of something that was completely out of his control were plentiful.
In a time where the friction between the fighters and the promotion can be felt in the media quite often, at least we’re seeing a positive in what has been something of a grey area over the years.
Cillian Cunningham, Pundit Arena
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