Brian Ortega Says Everyone Should Face a Veteran Like Clay Guida

Brian Ortega spoke with MMAjunkie about his fight with Clay Guida at UFC 199. Some highlights are below:

On fighting in front of a hometown crowd: “Dude, I’m not going to lie, it’s fun. It was less stressful at a point until I realized how many people thought I had a lot of connections to this fight. It’s like, everyone has been asking me, ‘Yo, go get me a ticket. Give me this. Let me be your cornerman.’ I’ve been getting some weird requests and, oh man, it did get me stressed out this camp. But, then again, they all support me. It’s hard. People don’t know, you know? It feels good. I’m in my hometown.”

On fighting a veteran in Guida: “Honestly, I feel like every fighter, in their career, has to face a veteran. It’s going to show the world – and the fighter – where he’s at with that experience level. Especially with the way Clay Guida fights. I think everyone needs a Clay Guida fight in their life. Win or lose, that’s a fight you’ve got to have. That’s a hell of a war. I’ve been through wars, but I know Saturday it’s going to be a hell of a war. I pretty much grew up watching him. At my debut I saw him and was like, ‘There’s Clay Guida, let’s get a shot.’ I’ve got it on my Instagram from a long time ago. Now we’re fighting each other. It’s part of the sport. … He’s a frickin’ cool guy. But, it is what it is, we’ve got to fight each other.”