Brian
Ortega and Yair
Rodriguez will get a chance to settle the score in a few
months.
The news was first announced by Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White
on social
media on Thursday night. The five-round co-main event will take
place at the Mexico City Arena in Mexico City on Feb. 24 at
UFC Fight Night 237.
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Ortega (15-3, 1 NC) and Rodriguez (19-4, 1 NC) first crossed paths
in UFC Long Island in July 2022, where “T-City” sustained a
fight-ending shoulder injury a little after four minutes into the
opening frame. As a result, Rodriguez was awarded a victory, which
spurred him into an interim title opportunity. Since their meeting,
“El Pantera” has competed twice, while Ortega has been out of
action entirely, ensuring a full recovery for his shoulder.
Following his win over Ortega, Rodriguez went on to claim interim
featherweight strap by tapping Josh Emmett
with a triangle choke at UFC 284. The Mexican standout fell short
of unifying the belt, succumbing to strikes from champion Alexander
Volkanovski at Sherdog’s 2023 “Event of the Year”-winning UFC
290. In the UFC, Rodriguez has only lost to current or former
beltholders Frankie
Edgar, Max
Holloway and Volkanovski.
Ortega has not had his hand raised since an October 2020 victory
against Chan Sung
Jung. The Californian has struggled the last several years,
albeit against top-flight foes Holloway and Volkanovski in addition
to Rodriguez. He is currently riding the only losing streak of his
career, one that began with 15 wins and a no contest without a
defeat.
UFC Mexico, the first UFC event held in the nation since 2019, will
be headlined by a flyweight meeting between former champion
Brandon
Moreno and surging contender Amir Albazi.
Additional matched booked on the lineup include a pair of flyweight
scraps when Victor
Altamirano faces Felipe
dos Santos while Edgar
Chairez takes on Daniel da
Silva.