After a dizzying 12-month run of success, the laid back Brian Ortega discusses his journey to facing Max Holloway for the featherweight title this weekend at UFC 226.

Two weeks before his 27th birthday, Brian Ortega agreed to step in and face Frankie Edgar on short notice at UFC 222 on March 3, causing all celebrations to be put on hold until after the crucial co-main event showdown in Las Vegas.

But after extending his winning streak to six by becoming the first man to finish the perennial title threat and former lightweight champion – and doing so in the first round no less – Ortega celebrated in style by crushing a whole bunch of Jack in the Box.

“That’s all we got, bro,” laughed Ortega, who challenges Max Holloway for the featherweight title this weekend at UFC 226 at T-Mobile Arena. “That is all we got is Jack in the Box! Spicy chicken sandwich, seven stuffed jalapeno poppers, three egg rolls, four tacos and a Oreo cookie shake.”

He intends to celebrate the same way if he emerges victorious on Saturday night as well.

“This time we’ll go through the drive-thru with the belt,” he declared, chasing the statement with another laugh.

Riding the wave

Just 10 days prior to his fight for the featherweight title, Ortega admitted he hasn’t really had a chance to savor the moment because the last year of his professional life has been a non-stop wave of big fights and even bigger performances.

Although he’s on the cusp of challenging for championship gold and established as one of the brightest young stars on the roster, it was only a year ago that question marks about his place in the divisional hierarchy and how quickly he could rise to this level were still being asked.

Because of how swiftly he dispatched Edgar, a fixture in the title chase and one of the most respected competitors in the game, you forget that his showdown with Renato Moicano last July at UFC 214 in Anaheim was viewed as a stern challenge for the promising upstart with piercing blue eyes and a preternatural ability to sniff out a finish.

A year later, it looks like just another victory on his resume – a fourth consecutive third-round stoppage win that elevated him to the rank of a contender in the treacherous 145-pound weight class – when it was really a trial by fire.

The same goes for his second-round submission finish of Cub Swanson in December. On the eve of facing Holloway, Ortega’s victory over the dangerous veteran reads like a formality when getting your hand raised against “Killer Cub” remains anything but easy.

“I’ve honestly just been getting used to and adjusting to everything because everything has been happening so quick – one year,” said Ortega, speaking to FanSided last week before departing for Las Vegas. “The Moicano fight brought me to one level and then the Cub fight brought me to another level and then Frankie Edgar brought me to another one.

“Every single one doubled and now we have this fight. Get through this guy and who knows? This one is going to more than double; it’s going to quadruple and I’ve just got to get through this one and learn how to adjust.”

“It’s all eyes on us and we have to literally give the fans the show that they want.”

Wrapping his head around everything that has come his way in the last 12 months have been challenging for Ortega, but not unexpected and far from too daunting of a task to undertake.

He’s always believed he would reach this point and is confident that Saturday’s title clash with Holloway is just another marker along the way to even greater heights, but he’s also appreciative of what it means to be here – competing on the biggest stage in the sport, his name on the marquee at T-Mobile Arena – because he knows how much effort has gone into making this dream a reality and how everything could have turned out differently for him.

Ortega was kicked out of multiple high schools for fighting and grew up surrounded by poverty, drug abuse and violence. He was headed into that life before connecting with his boxing coach James Luhrsen and committing to pursuing a career in the cage.

“It means a lot of things,” he said, reflecting on his journey. “It’s a big ha-ha to all the people that never believed in me. For my people, it’s a big way of saying, ‘Look at all of our hard work – what we have accomplished and how far we have been able to get.’

“The entire shot has a lot of meaning to it, especially because it’s going to be on the biggest fight card of the year and it’s all eyes on us. It’s crazy. It’s all eyes on us and we have to literally give the fans the show that they want.

“I mean, it means we’re doing it the right way,” continued Ortega, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Rener Gracie. “(It means) we’re training the right way, we’re fighting the right opponents and we’re positioning ourselves exactly where we wanted to be which is on the biggest fight card of the year and fighting for the belt.

“There’s nothing else I can say besides I’m thankful, I’m happy and this is crazy,” he added. “When I talk to people and they make me think about what’s really going on, they make me go, ‘Damn, that’s a trip.’”

Making a Statement

In a sport where title shots aren’t always doled out on merit, Ortega’s approach has always been to leave the UFC brass with no choice but to give him a chance to challenge for the featherweight gold.

Just like in his fights, Ortega didn’t want to leave his fate in someone else’s hands, so he made it impossible for the organization to go with anyone else.

“I don’t know what else I could possibly do to make a statement and make it clear that I deserve my crack at the belt.”

“For me, it has always been, ‘If I want to get that title shot, how am I going to get it? How am I going to make a statement?’,” explained Ortega. “Well, you can’t deny me if I finish everyone that you put in front of me. That’s the way I looked at it. I can’t just be winning decisions and being happy with that. I have to finish whoever is in front of me to really make a statement and that’s what I have done.”

But even as he was racking up finishes, questions remained and critics found ways to diminish each subsequent impressive performance.

His wins over Thiago Tavares, Diego Brandao and Clay Guida didn’t earn him as much recognition as they should, with people opting to focus on their recent struggles and the time of the stoppages more than Ortega’s ability to put away such battle-tested foes and pull out victories before going to the cards.

The same goes for his win over Moicano, an unheralded Brazilian who entered on a 12-fight unbeaten streak and coming off a win over Jeremy Stephens that looks even better now that the Alliance MMA representative has surged into contention on the strength of three straight victories.

Even his victory over Swanson, a Top 10 fixture who has shared the cage with every great fighter to ever grace the featherweight division, wasn’t as celebrated as it should have been.

But all of that changed when he stepped up and snuffed out Edgar.

“I feel for the first four finishes, they were third-round stuff and people were still unsure,” said Ortega. “Then I fought Cub and I made a statement with that, but everyone just said that he was a jiu-jitsu guy and then the fight with Frankie, I shut everyone up.

“I made my statement. I made all my fights finishes and the last two were quick finishes with one submission and one knockout and finishing a guy who has never been finished in his entire career. I don’t know what else I could possibly do to make a statement and make it clear that I deserve my crack at the belt.”

Rasheady for War

Saturday’s showdown with Holloway represents a turning point for the featherweight division, as it represents the first undisputed championship fight in the 145-pound weight class that doesn’t involve Jose Aldo.

Holloway saw to it that Aldo would be out of the title picture by handing the long-time champion consecutive third-round stoppages losses in 2017, first venturing to Aldo’s backyard to dethrone him in Rio de Janeiro at UFC 212 before replicating his performance six months later in Detroit at UFC 218.

But like Ortega, the Hawaiian champion amassed an impressive winning streak while somehow remaining underrated as he worked his way up the divisional ladder. He too stopped Swanson and then followed it up with victories over Charles Oliveira, Stephens and Ricardo Lamas before people really sat up at took notice.

“We’re two guys who are truly finishers. We’re not playing the decision game; we’re here to kill each other and that’s what we’re going to do.”

After handling Anthony Pettis to claim the interim title, unifying the belts with his first win over Aldo and cementing his place atop the division in the rematch, people have finally started to recognize Holloway for what he is – one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet and someone capable of being a cornerstone for the organization for years to come.

Ortega sees a lot of similarities between he and Holloway and it’s a big part of what has him so excited to share the Octagon with “Blessed” this weekend.

“There’s never been a game plan,” said Ortega, beginning his assessment of this weekend’s featherweight championship fight. “For me, there is only finish the man who is in front of you; that is it. That’s my mission.

“Whether it’s pretty, ugly, a clean fight, a war – for me, I’ve got to get this job done. I can’t leave this in the eyes of the judges. I’m going for it, I’m all-in and for this guy, it’s the same thing and that’s what I love about this matchup.

“We’re two guys who are truly finishers. We’re not playing the decision game; we’re here to kill each other and that’s what we’re going to do. When you’ve got two young guys who want to kill each other and finish each other and they both believe they’re the better man and fighter, you’re building a recipe for the perfect war.”

But just like everything else over the last year, the fact that he’s on the brink of challenging for the featherweight title hasn’t quite sunk in yet either and Ortega isn’t sure it will until he hears Bruce Buffer introducing him on Saturday night.

“I’ve always envisioned it, right?” he said of fighting for the title. “Coming into the UFC, I’ve always said, ‘I’m going to be the champ one day,’ but I feel every single fighter has the same vision and everyone only gets so far.

“Every single victory has been a celebration because we were successful and because we were taking a couple steps forward. It’s like, ‘There’s the title; this fight is going to get us five steps forward.’ We celebrate at five steps forward and then we buckle down and get ready to go again. ‘Let’s see if we can make this jump. This one is 10 steps forward.’ Every fight was that way until now and now we’re sitting here getting ready for a world title fight.

“It’s something that I – it’s trippy, you know? I’ve envisioned it and I’m dreamed about it, but it’s still surreal to sit on the phone and say, ‘I’m going to fight for the title.’ It still hasn’t sunk in and I don’t think it will until I go in there and fight and they say, ‘And the challenger….’ That’s probably when I’ll go, ‘Oh shit – I’m challenging this guy.’”

And what about hearing the words, “And New” echoing throughout T-Mobile Arena?

“That’ll be a dream come true,” said Ortega. “That’s why I work so hard.”