UFC star Brian Ortega hit the Golden Globes stage for a segment that left many viewers confused - but he emerged no 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, decked out in an all-black tuxedo and blue sunglasses. Once inside the ceremony, Ortega - currently the No. 9 ranked featherweight in the UFC - and fellow fighter Mackenzie Dern, the current UFC women's strawweight champion, were introduced as protection for the stars of the breakout hockey drama Heated Rivalry, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams. Heated Rivalry's Hudson Williams Gets Messages From Closeted Hockey Players "Our next presenters are so hot right now they get mobbed everywhere they go, so we had to bring in some extra security," Golden Globes announcer Marc Malkin said. That's when Ortega and Dern, 32, appeared in UFC gear and stalked the stage inside The Beverly Hilton before Storrie, 25, and Williams, 24, presented the award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television to Adolescence's Erin Doherty. The bit fell flat for many viewers at home, who were befuddled by the seemingly random - and brief - appearance by the UFC fighters. "Mackenzie Dern and Brian Ortega just walked out at the Golden Globes ... for no reason whatsoever," MMA reporter Damon Martin wrote via X. "That was bizarre." Another viewer wrote, "The ufc people looked just as confused about why they were there as I was." While certainly a bit forced, the appearance of Ortega and Dern 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 marquee events. The first event under the deal, UFC 324, streams Saturday, January 24, on Paramount+. Despite some criticism, Ortega argued the UFC popping up at events like the Golden Globes actually makes a ton of sense. "We are entertainment when you think about it," Ortega told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet. "We're live entertainment, and we get to showcase our art through fighting. For us to do it with the Paramount deal now, it's such a great achievement to now be here and being recognized for what we do." He added, "We're humans, not just fighters, you know?" Ortega is scheduled to return to the octagon on March 7 for a fight against Renato Moicano. Ortega last competed in August 2025 against Aljamain Sterling, a fight that saw Ortega's body react viscerally as he attempted to make weight for the bout in Shanghai. Heated Rivalry's Connor Storrie Debuts Shaggy Hair on Golden Globes Red Carpet "[I was] confused on how 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 no matter what, we have to get this weight off ... I hit 20 minutes on the bike. Once I got off, I went unconscious. I was unconscious for about 30 minutes." He continued, "During that time, they were putting ice on me. They took all my clothes off. They left me in boxers. Woke up in the ER, I ripped everything off. I tried to speak, I couldn't really translate to them because, if they don't take everything off, I'm gonna take it off myself." Ortega contemplated canceling the fight, but decided to go through with it for one 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."