The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) 145-pound Featherweight division can seemingly do no wrong when it comes to matchups.
Ariel Helwani is reporting that a fight between top-ranked contenders Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez is being targeted for a future date yet to be determined.
For the man known as “T-City,” Ortega has had a great career spanning over the course of 18 total contests thus far. Unfortunately for him, his only losses have come in his two UFC title fight appearances.
14-0 heading into a highly anticipated clash with Max Holloway, Ortega came up short via fourth-round doctor’s stoppage TKO in what was one of Hollaway’s most brilliant performances (watch highlights). Taking his time to recover and reinvent himself, it would be nearly two years before Ortega re-entered the Octagon. When he did, it was in a masterclass of his own against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. The unanimous decision rebound win was enough to secure Ortega another title shot as well as a coaching spot on The Ultimate Fighter 29.
Taking on Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266 in September, Ortega gave the champion a serious scare in the third round when snatching up a guillotine. However, Volkanovski miraculously escaped and continued on to out-score his challenger in a Fight of the Year contender (watch highlights).
Rodriguez, on the other hand, hasn’t been all too active himself having only had one fight since 2019 where he fought Jeremy Stephens twice. The first was that absurd 16-second eye poke resulting in a no contest while the rematch saw Rodriguez work his way to a clear-cut unanimous decision. His last time out came in November when taking on the aforementioned Holloway in an instant classic. Despite his best efforts, Rodriguez was unable to overcome the former champion and divisional legend.