UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is defending the gold against Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 229.
If either of those competitors are unable to compete at the event, a last second replacement fighter could be Brian Ortega.
?I always stay ready,? Ortega said to TMZ Sports. ?There?s a lot of money on the line for that one and I doubt someone?s gonna get injured - I?ll be honest with you. But, I?ve been wrong many times, so, who knows? But I?m sure I?m in line; I?m sure there?s a lot of other fighters in line. But, yea, I?d definitely jump in if something happened.?
Ortega had already stepped up on short notice to fight former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, scoring a first round knockout win.
The fighter did have an opportunity to step up and fight Jeremy Stephens on short notice at UFC 226, but says that opportunity wasn?t worth it.
?These are the kinda fights that I?ll step in on last minute to save the card. Not no other fights like the last situation we had, where they wanted me to fight that clown,? Ortega said.
UFC 229 takes place on Saturday, October 6 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.