Photo by Woohae Cho/Zuffa LLC
A few days after Brian Ortega semi-apologized to Jay Park for slapping him inside T-Mobile Arena during the UFC 248 festivities in Las Vegas, Nevada, “T-City” has offered up a more sincere apology.
Ortega took to Instagram to write a lengthy post apologizing not only to Park, but to Chan Sung Jung, as well as to his own team and family.
“My pride is my enemy, and over the last couple days I’ve been battling it. I hope you understand that I’m human and I’m flawed, in more ways than one,” he began before showing contrition for going against everything he was taught to be.
“In the beginning, I justified my actions based on the series of events that led up to Saturday, but I now realize that what I did was wrong overall. My parents taught me dignity and respect, and I didn’t show that. My coaches have always taught me that martial arts are to empower the weak against the strong. On Saturday, that didn’t happen.” he added.
“When I make a mistake, I own the consequences. But in this case the negativity that I’ve caused has spilled over to the people closest to me, and that’s how I know that what I did was truly wrong. I’m sorry to you guys and my family.
“I apologize to @JParkitrighthere for my actions and the shit storm that followed, you deserve to enjoy MMA from outside the octagon just like any other fan. I apologize to @KoreanZombieMMA for dragging your friend into an equation that should start and end with the fighters.”
For his part, Park has not officially filed charges against Ortega, despite giving a statement to police immediately after the incident. As for Ortega and Jung, that’s a fight that still seems to be the one to make, now more than ever.