SUMMARY
- Brian Ortega won against Yair Rodriguez in a co-main event rematch at UFC Mexico via submission.
- During the press conference, Dana White talked about Brain Otega rolling his ankle.
UFC Mexico has just concluded, and the fans have witnessed a banger of an event. In an event that had all the action and drama one could hope for, we saw some pretty entertaining occurrences. Notably, the co-main event involving Brian Ortega was one of the major talking points.
For those unaware, ‘T-City‘ took on Yair Rodriguez in a co-main event rematch. Returning to action after two years out, there was understandably a lot of ring rust for the fighter. However, that was not even the worst thing as during his fighter introduction, Ortega seemingly rolled his ankle, which prompted reactions from fighters and fans watching worldwide.
Following the event, UFC President Dana White also addressed the situation, stating, “You see him (Ortega) roll his ankle, when he was jumping up and down? Saw that happen, and then he looked like he saw a ghost after that and I thought it was going to be over quick”. However, Brian did well to fight his inner thoughts and battled a lot of pain and adversity to get the submission victory in Round 3.
Brian Ortega reveals he rolled his ankles twice during the fight
Naturally, it was a very visible instance, with the fighter rolling his ankle as Bruce Buffer introduced him. For the most part, many assumed, just like Dana White, that Brian Ortega was in for a quick night at the office. As for Ortega himself, the fighter immediately panicked, realizing that he had rolled his ankle.
Although his coaches told him to stay strong and fight, the 33-year-old was understandably a little hesitant at first. Seeing that he was in for a 5-round co-main event, Brian had to get into the correct headspace in a very short time. Thus, Ortega started off relatively slow against Rodriguez, who understood the predicament his opponent was in.
Notably, Ortega went down in Round 1 and also took a kick to the rolled ankle. “It was hurting, and obviously, when you pay attention to it, it’s hard to really focus on the fight”. As it turns out, he went on to roll his ankle once again whilst running towards his kids after the win. Thus, it’s safe to say that the American-Mexican fighter had a pretty eventful evening.
Other fighters who have injured their ankles in fights
For the most part, fighters have been known to get injured at the eleventh hour. Whilst fighters like Derrick Lewis and Raul Rosas Jr. have struggled with illness just ahead of their fights, some have gotten injured as well. Considering the brutal nature of the sport, it is almost seen as a part and parcel of the game. With that said, let’s take a look at other fighters who have had similar struggles as Brian Ortega did at UFC Mexico.
The first name on a very long list comes from the very first fight at UFC Mexico itself. As it turns out, Erik Silva, who was taking on Muhammad Naimov, also suffered a brutal ankle injury. Taking a spinning head kick, Silva found himself stumbling, which is likely what caused him to roll his ankle. Similarly, Jeremiah Wells got his foot stuck in the cage whilst charging at Blood Diamond at UFC 271.
However, other examples include Henry Cejudo, who went into his fight against Marlon Moraes with a sprained left ankle. As such, he did get buckled yet managed to fight through for the win. Another example is that of Sean O’Malley, who rolled his ankle during his fight with Marlon Vera at UFC 252. Having rolled his ankle midway through Round 1, O’Malley’s stumbles eventually took a toll on him.