UFC Star Brian Ortega took to the Golden Globes stage for a segment that left many viewers confused — but he didn’t come away feeling any worse for wear.
“What a night,” Ortega, 34, wrote. via his Instagram story on Sunday January 11. “Thank you @ufc for having us here at the Golden Globes.”
Ortega also shared a photo of himself on the red carpet, wearing an all-black tuxedo and blue sunglasses.
Once inside the ceremony, Ortega – currently the UFC’s No. 9 featherweight – and fellow fighter Mackenzie Dernthe current UFC women’s strawweight champion, was introduced as protection for the stars of the hockey drama. Passionate rivalry, Connor Storrie And Hudson Williams.
Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams has been receiving messages from closeted athletes since his show became a pop culture sensation. “It’s definitely the people who contact us, somewhat anonymously, who say, ‘I’m still a professional gamer and I’m still in the closet,'” Williams, 24, told Andy Cohen. […]
“Our upcoming presenters are so hot right now that they’re mobbed everywhere they go, so we’ve had to put in extra security measures,” the Golden Globes announcer said. Marc Malkin said.
That’s when Ortega and Dern, 32, appeared in UFC gear and took the stage at the Beverly Hilton before Storrie, 25, and Williams, 24, presented the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role on television to Adolescence’s Erin Doherty.
The bit fell flat for many viewers at home, who were confused by the seemingly random — and brief — appearance of the UFC fighters.
“Mackenzie Dern and Brian Ortega just left the Golden Globes…for no reason,” the MMA reporter said. Damon Martin wrote via. “It was weird.”
Another spectator wrote“The UFC people looked just as confused as I was as to why they were there.”
While certainly a bit forced, Ortega and Dern’s appearance can be attributed to the UFC’s new partnership with CBS and Paramount+, which aired the Golden Globes.
In October 2025, the UFC signed a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount to become the exclusive home of the organization’s flagship events. The first event under the deal, UFC 324, will air Saturday, January 24 on Paramount+.
Despite some criticism, Ortega maintained that the UFC’s appearance at events like the Golden Globes actually made a lot of sense.
“We are entertainment when you think about it”, Ortega told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet. “We broadcast live shows and we get to showcase our art through fighting. For us to do it with the Paramount deal now, it’s a big accomplishment to now be here and be recognized for what we do.”
He added: “We are humans, not just fighters, you know? »
Ortega is expected to return to the octagon on March 7 for a fight against Renato Moicano.
Ortega last competed in August 2025 against Aljamain Sterlinga fight that saw Ortega’s body respond viscerally as he attempted to make weight for the fight in Shanghai.
“[I was] I didn’t know why my body wasn’t really pouring out the water or why it was just holding it in,” Ortega said in a video posted to his Instagram in September 2025. “But anyway, we have to lose this weight… I spent 20 minutes on the bike. Once down, I lost consciousness. I was unconscious for about 30 minutes.
He continued, “During that time, they were putting ice on me. They took off all my clothes. They left me in my boxers. I woke up in the emergency room, I ripped everything off. I tried to talk, I couldn’t really translate to them because if they don’t take everything off me, I’m going to take it off myself.”
Ortega considered calling off the fight, but decided to go ahead with it for a reason.
“I decided to fight for my family,” he said in the video. “That’s my job, to show up and do what I do for them. I fought for my family.”
