The UFC’s return to Long Island, New York has a main event set.
On Thursday, promotion officials announced via social media that featherweights Brian Ortega (15-2, 1NC) and Yair Rodriguez (13-3, 1NC) will headline the show. The event is expected to take place on July 16, 2022 at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
News of the match-up was first reported by ESPN Deportes earlier this month.
Ortega has not fought since coming up short in his second bid for gold this past September. At UFC 266, Ortega dropped a hard-fought but ultimately futile decision against Alexander Volkanovski. The loss dropped him to 1-2 across his last three fights, with Ortega also coming up short in a title fight against Max Holloway.
The California native known as “T-City” won a unanimous decision over The Korean Zombie between his two failed title opportunities.
Rodriguez is coming off a loss as well. In his most recent effort, he was lit up by Max Holloway in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors at UFC Vegas 42 last November.
Prior to that setback, Mexico’s “El Pantera” had put together wins over Zombie and Jeremy Stephens.
Currently, Ortega is ranked #2 at 145 pounds, while Rodriguez sits at #3 in the weight class. They also happen to be two of the most exciting fighters in the division not named Volkanovski or Holloway.
In addition to Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez, the following fights have been reported for UFC Long Island:
- Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodríguez
- Askar Askarov vs. Alex Perez
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Da Un Jung
- Herbert Burns vs. Khusein Askhabov
- Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Lemos
- Ricky Simón vs. Jack Shore
- Billy Quarantillo vs. Bill Algeo
- Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov
