A featherweight showdown between Brian
Ortega and Yair
Rodriguez has been targeted for the main event of a UFC card on
July 16.
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ESPN Deportes was first to report that both fighters have
verbally agreed to the pairing. A location for the event has not
been determined.
The 31-year-old Ortega is coming off a unanimous decision loss to
Alexander
Volkanovski in a 145-pound title bout at UFC 266 last
September. “T-City” is 0-2 in championship fights, with a
fourth-round stoppage loss to Max
Holloway in December 2018 on his resume. Ortega is 15-2 as
professional with notable wins over the likes of Chan Sung
Jung, Frankie
Edgar, Cub Swanson,
Renato
Carneiro and Clay
Guida.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, last appeared at UFC Fight Night 197 this
past November, when he dropped a five-round verdict against
Holloway in his first bout since October 2019. The Mexican
featherweight is 8-2 with one no contest in the Las Vegas-based
promotion and owns notable triumphs against the likes of Jeremy
Stephens, Jung, B.J. Penn,
Alex
Caceres and Dan
Hooker.