The fighter plans on returning to action later this year and he would like to fight former UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo next.
“I’m looking at this division, and I’m seeing Max move up – I don’t know if he’s going to come back down, especially if he becomes successful,” Ortega said to MMA Junkie. “I have no idea what that situation is. He’s got a great fight in front of him. I’m a fan of both of them, actually, in that fight. I look at the division right now, and I only see me and Aldo, if that makes sense.”
Aldo was last seen in action at UFC Fight Night Fortaleza, defeating Renato Moicano by second round TKO.
Some fighters look at their first professional MMA loss as a negative, but Ortega sees the bright side of the defeat.
“I feel like I’ve been blessed because there’s a lot of people who take a loss in their career, and a lot of people, the fans, they tend to forget about you,” Ortega said. “It just tends to be a rough patch in a lot of fighters’ lives. But for me, I left it all in there. I left it all in that cage. I did not have one reserve on me. I threw it all out, and I gave my fans – I literally cut my heart open that night, and I gave it to you guys, and I feel like everyone respected me for that. They loved me for that. It was my first loss, but if there was a way I was going to lose, I’m happy it was that way.”
With Aldo planning on retiring after his next two fights, it would appear that Ortega could serve as one of the featherweight’s final opponents.
