Ortega-Sterling to be contested at 153-pound catchweight

The marquee fight between Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling at UFC Shanghai will now be contested as a catchweight bout, the promotion announced.

Both fighters came in at 153 pounds Friday morning in China. Ortega appeared to be the one who struggled to cut down to 145 pounds, leading the UFC to make the change for the Fight Night card that will take place Saturday.

Ortega and Sterling rank fifth and seventh in the featherweight division, respectively.

Ortega, a two-time featherweight title challenger, has lost three of his previous four fights. He most recently suffered a unanimous decision loss to Diego Lopes at UFC 314 in September 2024, though he submitted Yair Rodriguez before that.

Meanwhile, Sterling last fought in December, suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Movsar Evloev. The former bantamweight champion is 1-1 in the UFC since moving up to featherweight.

UFC Shanghai is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang, who both made weight.