Brian Ortega of the UFC 226 says he's ready to take on the challenges of being a champion

LOS ANGELES – Brian Ortega is not yet champion of the UFC. He still has a bit of Max Holloway in front of him.

But already, the featherweight title challenger seems to be more than comfortable playing the role of champion when he manages to come out with a slight surprise next week at the co event. -main of the UFC 226.

"Yeah, I was (under the radar for a while)," Ortega told members of the media at a luncheon today in Los Angeles. "I'm still quiet, believe me, it comes with the territory – (I'm going to) have a target on (my) come back if I succeed on July 7. Even if it's not the case, it's not the case. is always a target on (my) back because I'm always ranked there with the best of the best featherweight.

"But there are some things that come with the belt – more media, just more things you need to do now – and challenge accepted – when I do not know what it's all about, let me try." me see what it is … There are things you just have to live through and if I succeed (in the title fight), that's what I'm going to do . "

Ortega (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) puts his undefeated record on the line against the 145-pound Holloway champion (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) at UFC 226, which will take place on 7 July at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main cards are broadcast live à la carte after the preliminary rounds on FS1 and UFC Fight Pbad.

Ortega said that he was also starting to get used to the extra attention that comes with being a budding superstar in the sport. But he does not intend to continue his climb by speaking a great match, as some do.

"I'm getting used to it more and more," Ortega said. "If I'm going to make a name for myself in this game, I need more looks on me, if I'm not going to talk like the rest of the world and say stupid and absurd things, I might as well show my work in the cage, and that's what I do, I go there and I fight pretty much where everybody looks at me and show people what I'm talking about and follow me, and I'm I have the impression that people respect that.

Much of this respect has come in his most recent fight. At UFC 222 in March, Ortega conducted his series of stops six times. But for the first time in this race, he did not have to leave the first lap to finish.

After starting out at the UFC with a bid win over Mike De La Torre that was canceled in 2014 when he tested positive for steroids, Ortega won five straight games by knockout, including four consecutive third-rounders. In a couple of these fights, his opponents were struggling with him before he rallied to get a finish in the final frame.

But against Cub Swanson last December at his first main event, he got a second round. And against Frankie Edgar in March, he finally broke through the bump for a completed first lap that did not require a return. And that made people talk because he became the first to stop Edgar, a former lightweight champion.

"I do not pay attention to that, to be honest," he said. "I'm happy to have found a little history because I had the story of the finals of the third round – which told me," Okay, you have something in the books (records), but it's not what I did to Frankie as if I gained much more respect from people after this fight. That's all I needed, and I liked that. Frankie is a tough guy. "

Holloway can be more difficult. So, getting a finish from it would mean that respect and attention will really move up a gear.

For more Ortega, check out the full video of his lunch interview above.

And to find out more about UFC 226, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.