Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing an exciting featherweight showdown to the UFC Long Island main event, locked and loaded for Sat., July 16, 2022 on ESPN from inside UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez.
Ortega (15-2, 1 NC) is looking to rebound from his unanimous decision loss to reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski back in September. “T-City” has only lost twice during his eight years under the UFC banner but both losses have come in 145-pound title fights.
Rodriguez (13-3, 1 NC) is also coming off a five-round decision loss, thanks to the busier hands of Max Holloway in their main event clash at UFC Vegas 42. That defeat marked the only appearance for “El Pantera” since late 2019, and like his UFC Long Island opponent, Rodriguez has only fell twice inside the Octagon.
UFC Long Island will also feature the welterweight battle between Li Jingliang and Muslim Salikhov. Elsewhere on the card, Amanda Lemos and Michelle Waterson get busy at strawweight, while Jack Shore and Ricky Simon hook ‘em up at 135 pounds.
Stay tuned for more UFC Long Island fight card announcements in the coming weeks.