It was a triumphant return to the Octagon in more ways than one for
Brian
Ortega.
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Not only did “T-City” avenge a previous loss to Yair
Rodriguez in the
UFC Fight Night 237 co-main event, but he pocketed a $50,000
“Performance of the Night” bonus in the process. After being
dropped and nearly finished in the opening stanza, Ortega rallied
to impose his will, ultimately eliciting a tapout from his opponent
with an arm-triangle choke 58 seconds into Round 3. It was Ortega’s
first appearance since July 2022, when a shoulder injury
prematurely ended his first meeting with Rodriguez.
Elsewhere, Daniel
Zellhuber and Francisco
Prado garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece
for their featured lightweight scrap. Prado’s aggression helped him
get off to a strong start, but the rangy Zellhuber bloodied his
opponent with strikes and got stronger as the bout progressed to
ultimately earn a unanimous decision triumph.
Finally, Manuel
Torres received the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the
Night” check by virtue of his 14th career first-round finish
against Chris
Duncan in a lightweight pairing. After some early exchanges on
the feet, Torres found his way to his adversary’s back and elicited
a tapout at the 1:46 mark of Round 1.