Social Media Freaks Out Over Ortega’s UFC 306 Photo … From July

Brian Ortega has fans worried about his fight shape ahead of Noche UFC at UFC 306 this weekend (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024). Little did they realize the images they were concerned about were not from fight week.

Social media jumping to conclusions? An insane thought, right? Not necessarily. Promotional images from UFC were posted mid-fight week for Ortega, who fights Diego Lopes, that were from July 23, 2024. They can be seen below along with ignorant fan reactions.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

This doesn’t mean Ortega is or isn’t in a similar shape, but cause for concern may come from “T-City” maintaining that he is still planning to move up in weight after his clash with Lopes. Ortega, 33, teased the Lightweight transition before his original scheduling against Lopes at UFC 303 in June 2024. Ultimately, the fight fell apart as last minute as we’ve ever seen in mixed martial arts (MMA).

After Ortega was struck out of the previous Lopes pairing via an illness, the Mexican contender went on to battle Dan Ige, who he defeated via a unanimous decision to extend his winning streak to four (25-6).

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 306 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 306: “O’Malley vs. Merab” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.