A new year is here, and that means it’s time for Combat Press to take a look back at the best of MMA in 2024. In the coming days, Combat Press will announce its award winners in multiple categories, covering everything from the action in the cage to the biggest stories surrounding the sport.
The fight hadn’t even started, and Brian Ortega was facing adversity, as he stared across the cage at Yair Rodriguez in Mexico City. Not only was he injured early on in the pair’s first meeting, “T-City” had a mishap in his in-cage, pre-fight routine.
While being introduced by Bruce Buffer, Ortega landed awkwardly while bouncing around and rolled his ankle. The pain was visible instantly for anyone watching, and the hill he had to climb to defeat Rodriguez got even steeper. For a while, things only got worse from there. After eating some heavy kicks to the body, a left hook would drop Ortega to the ground. He quickly recovered to his feet only to be sent back down with another left hook. It looked like a forgone conclusion that Ortega wouldn’t make it through the round, let alone the fight. With blood coming out of his nose, he would slip to the ground, and Rodriguez, seemingly sensing the end was near, would follow him to the mat. Ortega would eat a few massive right hands from his back, but, somehow, survived the round and even ended it with a takedown of his own. It was not a great start, and he looked like he was on his way to being 0-2 against Rodriguez.
With his back against the proverbial wall, Ortega would need a major momentum shift to try and get back into the fight. Early on in the second, Ortega withstood the pressure better than in the first round. He landed a few shots of his own, and, after some successful defense from Rodriguez, Ortega was able to get the fight to the mat. The momentum shifted, and Ortega took over in the latter part of the second round. He is the one who did the better work and more damage that round.
A body lock early in the third round allowed Ortega to get the fight to the mat, and he showed that he is the superior grappler. He moved into mount and almost instantly locked in an arm-triangle choke that Rodriguez could not escape. Eventually “El Pantera” was forced to tap, and Ortega got the win after taking hellacious damage early on in the fight.
With the deck stacked against him, Ortega’s ability to overcome both adversity both before and during the fight scores him the 2024 Combat Press MMA Award for Comeback of the Year.