UFC CEO Dana White was recently at risk of losing one of the biggest fights ahead of the UFC’s return to mainland China for the first time since 2017. The co-main event at UFC Shanghai, involving Aljamain Sterling and Brian Ortega, was speculated to be off the card. The reason had to do with Ortega and his issues with cutting weight for the featherweight bout. However, it was later revealed that the reports stemmed from a big miscommunication.

Aljamain Sterling and Brian Ortega are both kicking off their 2025 campaigns with their fight this weekend. The cancellation of this fight could have meant their months of training going to waste. But there are no issues anymore, as it happens that the fight is going down in Shanghai. With less than 48 hours to go, Ortega shared a little message for his fans.

Brian Ortega’s message ahead of the fight against Aljamain Sterling

According to reports, Brian Ortega’s weight-cutting issues led him to faint during the process. As such, he had to be rushed to the hospital for medical attention. But later, it was revealed that ‘T-City’ was in good health and had stepped onto the scale during the official weigh-in, alongside his opponent, Aljamain Sterling. The duo even had a brief face-off ahead of this Saturday night, where Ortega seemed a bit off as he staggered to the stage.

As a result, Dana White was forced to make a change to the co-main event at UFC Shanghai. Since Brian Ortega was struggling to get down to the featherweight limit, both fighters weighed in at 153 lbs, almost reaching the lightweight limit. As such, Ortega and Aljamain Sterling will now be competing in a catchweight fight, which isn’t something that Dana White likes.

Nevertheless, the reports of Brian Ortega’s weight-cutting struggle made rounds on social media. Fans were concerned, and even after reports surfaced that the fight would happen this Saturday, some fans urged ‘T-City’ to pull out and skip this one. Ortega may have come across those reactions on social media, as he expressed his gratitude, stating, “Love you guys” in his Instagram stories.

Well, being healthy is more important than fighting, and the fans are hoping everything’s alright with Brian Ortega. We say that because when he stepped up to face off with Aljamain Sterling, he looked visibly weak and unwell. This has raised concerns among fans. Meanwhile, a UFC commentator has opened up about the whole situation on social media.

UFC commentator claims Sterling vs Ortega “was in doubt”

When the initial reports claimed that the fight was off, they were not far away because there was a chance that Dana White would take the fight off the UFC Shanghai card. However, the UFC CEO and the matchmaking team were unsure they’d go down that route, according to Brendan Fitzgerald, but they wanted to wait for the medical team’s verdict. Meanwhile, Aljamain Sterling had already fulfilled his weigh-in obligations.

“Here’s how it actually went down in the co-main event. Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling was never actually off. It was never canceled. It was in doubt at certain times,” Brendan Fitzgerald said on Instagram. “Aljamain Sterling was down, ready for weigh-ins at the start of the window at 9 am… Brian Ortega, of course, was not [on the weighing scale]. Had a tough time getting down. So they had to wait and see if Ortega would be medically cleared to fight, if he was gonna be able to make it to the scale.”

Despite the medical scare, Brian Ortega seems fit enough to fight this weekend. It remains to be seen what comes out of this catchweight fight, since it may not hold much value in their ascension up the ranks in the featherweight division. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.