Is Ortega a gatekeeper ?

Gatekeeper has different meanings but as far as Ortega is concerned He's a notch above the rest of the division but not champ material as shown by his last 2 title fights where he got outclassed.
 
yes

he's got heavy hands, cardio, toughness, and elite bjj

the problem is he can't put it all together and has shit defense. he can't take people down to implement his bjj. and his striking is too poor to land any big shots.
 
Absolutely not.

A top ranked guy who only has two loses, and to champions, is not a gatekeeper.

I think of a gatekeeper as someone who might be near the bottom of the top 10, maybe even 10-15, who is generally a tough fight for anyone, and who you need to get by if you have hopes of becoming a contender. Someone with some longevity and consistency, so that they are a good measuring stick for others.

Anytime this convo comes up, I point to Chris Lytle...he was not 'champ material', so to speak, but he was very well rounded and generally a tough fight for anyone, with most of his losses coming to very good fighters.

Cub Swanson might also be a good example....maybe Matt Brown...?
 
Last edited:
tonil said:
Looking at his fights against Max and Alex , he was most of the time a punching bag,
so it looks like he can't be at the top because he will get beat up , but eventually keep the contenters in place.
Click to expand...

Just unlucky to catch two of the Divisions Greatest at the Prime of their Abilities.
 
tonil said:
Looking at his fights against Max and Alex , he was most of the time a punching bag,
so it looks like he can't be at the top because he will get beat up , but eventually keep the contenters in place.
Click to expand...

2 Championship appearances, but I don't think he's won a single round. He doesn't look like he'd ever beat holloway or volkanovski until they're way past their primes. It's kind of an insult around here, but even if you can't compete with the best, but your better than all the rest, that's pretty God damn good. I'm not really a fan, but yeah, I'd say he's a gatekeeper in the best way possible.
 
I don't think a guy who is 2nd or 3rd best in a division with 2 losses coming from champions is necessarily a gate keeper.
 
Its true what Volkanovski said... you could tell by his response and body language. You cant half ass it to take the belt he's definitely talented but his best talent is his ability to take a lickin and keep on ticking, take a beating and keep on speaking. People seem to forget he's come from behind to win in quite a few of his fights, hell he would of beat and subbed Volk if he wasn't the son of a fire hydrant.

I think he does well against opponents with a shorter reach, when he can dictate the pace a little and pick his moments.
 
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