Brian Ortega says he might not be fighting for the title if not for the beating he took from Max Holloway ... 'cause the L opened his eyes to some major holes in his game.
TMZ Sports talked to the 30-year-old fighter -- the #2 ranked UFC featherweight -- days before he'll take on champ Alex Volkanovski at UFC 260 on Saturday ... and we asked if he's changed since his last title shot.
"I feel like I’m finally learning how to fight more, ya know. I feel like before, I was kind of just stuck with my old ways, and if it ain’t broken don’t fix it," T-City told us.
Remember, Ortega lost to Holloway at UFC 231 in December 2018 ... and it was a bloodbath. The Octagon-side doctor stopped the fight in the 4th round ... after Brian ate 290 significant strikes (244 to the head).
T-City -- who broke his nose and thumb in the match -- took nearly 2 years off after the fight. He returned to face the Korean Zombie -- Chan Sung Jung -- in October 2020.
Ortega won by unanimous decision ... and looked AWESOME.
So, did the dominating loss to Holloway actually help Brian?? Absolutely, according to Ortega.
"That was the best thing about it because [losing] showed me that there’s a flaw in your system. So now we have to fix that," Ortega said.
He added ... "The fact that you saw and notice that there is a flaw in the system, and luckily I was able to have a team, a new one, surround me and help me kind of cover all those holes, and guide me now on the right track."
Speaking of Max, the former champ recently told us he's "the cloud over [the Ortega-Volkanovski] fight" ... and Brian actually agrees.
"He's right. Alex wins, he has to fight [Max]. I win, I have to fight [Max]. Us three are a pain in each others’ asses that are going to keep being there."
But, first things first, Ortega has to beat Volkanovski ... and if he does, he's adamant the next time he steps in with Max will be VERY different than the first.