Overview
- The bout is being contested at a 153-pound catchweight after Brian Ortega’s weight-cut trouble prevented a featherweight weigh-in.
- FanDuel listed Aljamain Sterling as a heavy favorite at -490, and MMA Fighting’s pick backed him to win.
- Sterling, a former bantamweight champion, has been competing at 145 pounds, defeating Calvin Kattar and narrowly losing to Movsar Evloev in 2024.
- Ortega holds the No. 5 ranking but is 1–3 in his past four, and with Lerone Murphy, Diego Lopes or Jean Silva, Yair Rodriguez and Movsar Evloev in the mix, one win is unlikely to secure a title shot.
- A video shared by Merab Dvalishvili showed an ambulance at the fighter hotel during Ortega’s cut, with no official details on any treatment.