UFC 303 media day: Brian Ortega Purge walk, Jiri Prochazka special request, Ian Garry comparison

The UFC 303 media day took place on Wednesday, June 26 and featured several fighters on the card. The entire main card and select undercard fighters spoke to a panel of journalists, including FanSided MMA about the fight and other related topics. Overall there were highlights from each of the interviews but these were a few of the things we learned and thought you might want to know about UFC 303 media day.

1. Brian Ortega's purge walk-out was inspired by wanting to kill his upstairs neighbor

Brian Ortega was asked about his walkout, inspired by The Purge and we got an answer there's no way we were expecting. Ortega explained that in the lead up to the fight, he'd moved into an apartment and the upstairs neighbors were having loud sex at all hours of the night. He said he even complained and they got louder. He had been listening to the song and had begun fantasing about them being the first people he would kill.

“I was watching some reels (on Instagram) or something and ‘The Purge’ song came on, and I started fantasizing, not the best thing but if ‘The Purge’ was real the first thing I’m doing is going upstairs,” Ortega said without any pause. He continued, “It feels like they’re dragging something across the floor all night, like if you need help let me know, and after I complained (to the Landlord), I swear they’d double down on it, so that was just in my head, like dude if ‘The Purge’ was real I’d go upstairs and just handle business.

2. Jiri Prochazka thinks Alex Pereira is using spirits to win, asked him to stop

In one of the more outlandish moments from the press conference, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka accused Alex Pereira of using spiritual warfare in the fight and requested he not use any spiritual methods in their UFC 303 match-up.

“Everybody knows it, and he’s doing rituals before the fight, everybody can feel what’s around him and what’s going on and I think Alex can’t fight without that," he said. “Right now, this is my challenge to him, if we can fight in a clear way in this case, to be without other things, some whatever but let the higher power be there in the cage to see who’s the best in the world in pure performance."

Later in the afternoon, Pereira was asked to respond to the request, to which he said, “Well, everybody has their own spirits we’re not only made of flesh and bone, I’ve found mine. If he has not found his or if he does not believe, it’s not my fault."

This pre-fight trash talk is fascinating.

3. Ian Garry compared himself and Conor McGregor to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant

Ian Garry is often compared to Conor McGregor but in not the best light. At the presser he explained how he turns those negatives into a positive and finds a compliment in them.

"Anyone saying that I am trying to be like Conor McGregor or I am trying to do something to be like Conor, I take that as a compliment,” Garry said at UFC 303 media day on Wednesday. “He’s the greatest star the sport has ever seen. So if you’re comparing me to him, it means I’m doing something right. Now, people are saying I want to be like him. I’m not trying to be like him in any way, shape, or form. Have I been inspired by him? Absolutely. How many people talked about Kobe Bryant trying to be like Michael Jordan? Kobe Bryant went out and made a legacy of his own. Kobe Bryant went out and made a legacy of his own in his own way, but having similar traits and styles to Jordan.