Dana White confirmed that Brian Ortega vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was just one step away, as UFC FW Star claimed years ago

Of all the dream fights that have taken place in the UFC, there are always some that almost happened before being canceled for unfortunate reasons. And one such fight that almost happened was between “The Eagle” Khabib Nurmagomedov and Brian Ortega. Fans would have loved to see a fight between the two, and that's exactly what the UFC featherweight thought.

A few years ago, before his fight against the then featherweight champion Max Holloway At UFC 231 in Toronto, Canada, Ortega revealed that he was looking for superfights in his career and wanted to ask Dana White about them. He had the opportunity to do so once before when he revealed in a 2018 tweet that he was almost slated to fight “The Eagle.” The tweet read: “Just FYI, Dana called me yesterday to ask if I would step in against Khabib since Max hadn't responded yet. I said yes. Eventually Max responded and Dana gave him the fight. If everything goes according to plan, it will be my turn – against both of them.”

“T-City” announced that he was ready to face Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 since Holloway did not agree to fight the Eagle. White then called Ortega as a replacement. However, Holloway eventually responded and took the spot from T-City.

This may bring back bittersweet memories for combat sports fans. The disaster of a fight week leading up to UFC 223 began when Tony Ferguson injured his knee during a media event. Nurmagomedov had to survive several opponent changes before finally fighting AI Iaquinta and winning the vacant lightweight belt.

But how do we know Ortega isn't lying in this story? Well, that's because Dana White also liked the post. And not only that, he also commented “TRUTH” to confirm T-City's version of things.

Although Iaquinta gave it his best, the undefeated MMA GOAT managed to get his hand raised after five grueling rounds. Holloway, who accepted the fight on six days' notice, had to watch the fight from home as he was unable to participate due to medical reasons as he needed to lose a lot of weight.

Ortega was eliminated from the PPV and before we could even see the dream fight, Khabib pulled out. However, Ortega has fought for a UFC title twice – at featherweight – but both times he came up short.

Now Ortega is preparing for a five-round fight against Diego Lopes in Las Vegas, but it won't be easy because Lopes has his eye on the featherweight title.

Lopes wants to beat Brian Ortega at UFC Noche at all costs

Ortega is ready to face Diego Lopes on the main card of UFC Noche at the Las Vegas Sphere in Las Vegas. Featherweight Ortega is coming off his rematch against Yair Rodriguezwhere he forced his opponent to submit and secured a win at UFC Fight Night 237. And now, the former two-time UFC featherweight title contender would be looking for a win against Diego Lopes to stay in the title race. Ortega represents a big jump in contention for Lopes. Although the -170 favorite against the +142 underdog Ortega is clearly the fan favorite, the UFC fighter sees a lot at stake with a win over the former multi-title challenger.

If he can continue his winning streak, the 29-year-old believes he could catapult himself into title contention. A win over the American would be a huge change in the rankings and would certainly catapult Lopes into the top five. So a win actually means a future title shot for the 25-6 MMA and 4-1 UFC star. What do you think? Will Lopes pull it off or will Ortega crush his dreams of becoming a champion? Let us know in the comments.