Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling meet in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 257 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.<\/p>\n
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Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling UFC Shanghai preview<\/p>\n
Originally scheduled as five-round featherweight affair, Ortega and Sterling now will compete at a 153-pound catchweight<\/a> following reports of Ortega struggling to cut weight. Ortega is far removed from the period of his career in which he started off 14-0. Since 2018, Ortega is 2-4, and he’s coming off a unanimous decision loss to Diego Lopes last September at Noche UFC. Sterling, a former UFC bantamweight champion, is 1-2 in his past three bouts. That includes losing his 135-pound title to Sean O’Malley<\/a>, defeating Calvin Kattar in his move to featherweight, and most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Movsar Evloev.<\/p>\n Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling UFC Shanghai expert pick, prediction<\/p>\n The co-main event in Shanghai features a five-round affair between Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling that was shifted to a lightweight bout at the eleventh hour.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n This fight was initially slated to happen at featherweight, but weight cut complications on the Ortega side of the equation forced this fight to continue a division up.<\/p>\n I’ve long been having doubts about where Ortega is at this point in his career (especially at 145 pounds), and seeing him show up overweight and looking like a zombie on the scales only reaffirms my fears.<\/p>\n I was already picking Sterling for his superior wrestling and movement, but was admittedly worried about him in the latter frames of the fight. However, after what I witnessed at the weigh-ins, I suspect that Sterling will be in better shape come the championship rounds.<\/p>\n I’ll still officially pick Sterling to win by decision, but don’t be surprised if the former bantamweight champion can force a finish late.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling UFC Shanghai odds<\/p>\n The oddsmakers and the public favor the former champ, listing Sterling (-375) and Ortega (+300) via FanDuel.<\/p>\n Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling UFC Shanghai start time, how to watch<\/p>\n As the co-main event, Ortega and Sterling are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 7:45 a.m. ET. The fight streams live on ESPN+.<\/p>\n