Max Holloway was keen to remind the media of his own standout accomplishments at the UFC 231 pre-fight press conference.
There’s a lot of hype surrounded Brian Ortega, and for good reason.
The 27-year-old talent is undefeated at 14-0 (1 NC) and holds big wins over Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar. It was his win over Edgar, which saw Ortega brutally KO the former lightweight champion in the first round of the UFC 222 main event, which catapulted ‘T-City’ into title contention.
The submission artist will challenge Max Holloway for the featherweight title at UFC 231, and much of the focus heading into the matchup has been on Ortega’s emphatic rise to the top.
Holloway, however, was keen to remind reporters at the UFC 231 pre-fight press conference of his own accomplishments and notoriety, highlighting his impressive 12-fight win streak and back-to-back championship wins over former pound-for-pound No. 1 Jose Aldo.
“He’s good,” Holloway said of Ortega on Wednesday, per MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti. “He’s a dangerous man, but everybody keeps talking about Brian and this and that. Everything the guy did, I did better. He’s on what, a six-fight win streak? I got 12. He beat a champion? I beat two — and I beat one of them twice. So at the end of the day, the ‘Blessed’ express is going around in a circle. We’re lapping you, bro. And I’m younger than you, so congratulations.”
Holloway’s words prompted an entertaining back-and-forth between the two featherweights.
“Sometimes the best response is no response,” Ortega said when asked for a response.
“Sometimes you don’t have a response, so…” Holloway shot back.
“Someone is still delirious,” Ortega replied.
The highly anticipated championship matchup will headline this Saturday’s UFC 231 PPV at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.