As the UFC prepares for its return to mainland China for the first time since 2017, Saturday's Fight Night card has been hit with a last-minute change.
The co-main event between ranked featherweights Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling has been moved to a catchweight of 153 pounds, the UFC announced Thursday.
The 11th-hour change was a decision the promotion made after Ortega reportedly failed to make the scheduled featherweight limit. While allowed to weigh in a pound over the 145-pound mark for non-title fights, "T-City" didn't even make it to the scales, according to MMAmania.
It wouldn't be the first time Ortega has struggled to cut down for a featherweight fight, previously missing weight ahead of his UFC 303 co-main matchup against Diego Lopes. And although the Brazilian up-and-comer agreed to fight Ortega at lightweight instead, the bout was ultimately still called off when the American was forced to withdraw after falling ill mere hours before they were set to step into the octagon.
Ortega has hinted at moving up to lightweight previously, as the now 34-year-old, 11-year UFC vet, has grappled with cutting down to 145 pounds consistently — Thursday's reported occurrence being the latest example.
The UFC Shanghai co-main still happening — after initial reports it was going to be scrapped altogether — gives Ortega a much-needed path back to form. The former two-time featherweight title challenger, and current No. 5-ranked fighter in the division, most recently stepped into an octagon last September, losing to Lopes at UFC 306 in the rescheduled bout between the two contenders.
The defeat marked Ortega's fourth loss in his last six fights — two of which were his failed efforts at claiming the featherweight belt, first against Max Holloway in 2018, then against Alexander Volkanovski in 2021.
Meanwhile, Sterling will be hoping to rebound from his last performance as well. The former bantamweight champ made the move to featherweight last April but has seen mixed results since. "Funkmaster" picked up a win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 in his 145-pound debut, but he followed it up with a one-sided loss to Movsar Evloev in December at UFC 310.
Sterling currently ranks seventh in the featherweight division after his 1-1 start. And although his bout against Ortega won't go down as an official 145-pound matchup, taking down a mainstay of the division would surely get him moving up the ranks and back in the right direction.
As for the rest of Saturday's card set to take place at Shanghai Indoor Stadium, all other fighters made weight, including light heavyweight headliners Johnny Walker and Mingyang Zhang, who'll face off in the main event.
