{"id":132574,"date":"2025-09-10T10:55:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T10:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/132574\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T10:55:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T10:55:07","slug":"brian-ortega-exposes-huge-issue-with-ufc-medicals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/132574\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Ortega Exposes HUGE Issue With UFC Medicals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just a matter of weeks ago, Brian Ortega<\/a> stepped into the octagon and put in one of the most lacklustre performances of his career to date. Slipping to 1-4 in his last five, Ortega not only forced his opponent, Aljamain Sterling, to compete at a higher weight class, but in a recent post, exposed the UFC medical team in a worrying way.<\/p>\n

Took control over all 5 rounds! \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8@FunkMasterMMA<\/a> put on a dominating performance at #UFCShanghai<\/a> \ud83d\udc4a pic.twitter.com\/Js5gh6OrzY<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 UFC (@ufc) August 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Taking to Instagram<\/a>, Ortega addressed his weight-cutting issues in Shanghai. He stated:<\/p>\n

\u201cI hit 20 minutes on the bike. Once I got off, I went unconscious. I was unconscious for about 30 minutes. During that time, they were putting ice on me, they took all my clothes off, they left me in boxers. I woke up in the E.R., I ripped everything off, I couldn\u2019t really speak, translate to them. I was like, if they don\u2019t take everything off, I\u2019m going to take it off myself. We knew we had time limit to get to the weigh-ins, otherwise I could not fight. <\/p>\n

If you saw the weigh-ins, you obviously know I looked delirious, and just coming off 30 minutes of being unconscious in the tunnel\u201d.<\/p>\n

This is a worrying admission from Brian Oretga.<\/p>\n

Health in the Hands of Brian Ortega \u2013 NOT the UFC<\/p>\n

Seemingly, the decision was in the hands of the fighter, Brian Ortega. We know fighters have an elite mindset and will always look to fight if they can. The UFC medical team should be the ones to make the decision. Ortega stated:
\u201cWe figured if I didn\u2019t feel good or if something was seriously off, we would call the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

This highlights a key issue with pre-fight medicals. The choice should never be in the hands of the fighter, the fighter\u2019s team or the promoter. It should be the decision of the independent medical team. If a fighter has been unconscious for 30 minutes the day before a fight, logic should prevail and that fighter should be pulled out of the fight.<\/p>\n

Medical Failures in Shanghai<\/p>\n

Brian Ortega\u2019s issue wasn\u2019t the only failure on the night from a medical perspective. Kiefer Crosbie suffered a brutal illegal knee, which arguably led to a TKO loss at the hands of Nueraji Taiyilake.<\/p>\n

The Irishman took to Instagram to say that no doctor checked on him after the fight. He further stated:<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

This is a clear flaw in the medical tests and is worrying for any fighters who are looking to fight in China any time soon. Hopefully, going forwards, better, more in-depth medical testing and procedures will be put in place ahead of UFC fights in the region and better care of the fighters after the fights will also come to light.<\/p>\n