UFC Long Island offered the possibility of a new title challenger emerging in the featherweight division.
Brian Ortega has been there twice, challenging both Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski for 145 pound gold. Though he came up short on both occasions, “T-City” remains one the toughest tests in the weight class, and arguably had champ Volkanovski closest to defeat care of a choke attempt that even the champion admitted was deep.
Yair Rodriguez, however, would be new blood in the featherweight title picture. An Ultimate Fighter alum, Rodriguez has never challenged for gold — and with a win over Ortega, it would be hard to deny him that opportunity, with apologies to Josh Emmett.
UFC Long Island was far from a one-fight card, however. Former women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate was set to make her flyweight debut, taking on former title challenger Lauren Murphy. Tate, who also claimed gold in Strikeforce, could possibly land her own title shot with a strong performance on Saturday. Amanda Lemos, meanwhile, was matched up with Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson, in a key strawweight fight that found both ladies looking to return to the win column.
Shane Burgos vs. Charles Jourdain? That had Fight of the Night potential written all over it.
Following UFC Long Island, which sees an early start time thanks to its placement on U.S. broadcast network ABC, tune in for the post-fight press conference. A live stream of the action can be found above.
