Daniel Cormier: Brian Ortega losing to Diego Lopes at UFC 306 would be 'a bit of a changing of the guard'

Daniel Cormier sees UFC 306 as a must-win for Brian Ortega if he wants to remain in title contention.

Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) meets rising star Diego Lopes (25-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on Saturday’s Noche UFC (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) main card at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Ortega, a former two-time UFC featherweight title challenger, had his back against the wall heading into his rematch with Yair Rodriguez in February. However, Ortega was able to return from injury and avenge that loss by submitting Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 237, snapping his two-fight losing skid.

“I think this fight is going to be very telling as to where Brian Ortega is in his career,” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “If you can’t beat these young up-and-comers, it becomes difficult to stay where you’ve lived your entire career. Ortega has lived at the top of the card for as long as we can remember. If he loses to a guy like Lopes, a guy who’s on a run, a guy who’s making his way to the top of the division, it becomes a bit of a changing of the guard.

“But I think that happened in Mexico City. Brian Ortega was supposed to go lose to Yair Rodriguez. He got the job done, and he looked very impressive in doing so. So this is a massive opportunity because with a new champion in Ilia Topuria fighting Max Holloway, Ortega wins this fight, he’s going be right on the shortlist of guys that can compete for the belt.”

According to DraftKings, Ortega is a +142 underdog against Lopes, who’s a -170 favorite. Ortega opened up as a -125 favorite over Lopes for their initially scheduled bout at UFC 303 in July before he withdrew due to illness. Lopes faced four-hour notice replacement Dan Ige instead, defeating him by unanimous decision.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.