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Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega have already been to the dance together once before, but due to a nasty shoulder dislocation in the first round of their fight back in July of 2022, the fight was stopped and Rodriguez went home with the W. The UFC has determined that we must run it back, though, so here we are with our second rematch on a card that is carrying three of them (first one is Edgar Cháirez vs. Daniel Lacerda). With both men in the Top 5 (Rodriguez at Number 3 and Ortega at Number 4), this bout could very well serve as a title eliminator. Let’s take a look at their stats to see how they match up.
Preview
Yair Rodriguez
- Age: 31
- Height: 5’11
- Reach: 71 inches
- Stance: Orthodox
- Record: 18-4 (7 KO, 5 SUB, 6 DEC)
- Amateur record: None
- Last opponent: Alexander Volkanovski (TKO loss, Round 3)
- Current UFC streak: 1 loss
Brian Ortega
- Age: 33
- Height: 5’8
- Reach: 69 inches
- Stance: Switch
- Record: 15-3 (3 KO, 7 SUB, 5 DEC)
- Amateur record: None
- Last opponent: Yair Rodriguez (TKO loss, Round 1)
- Current UFC streak: 2 losses
Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega live play-by-play
Round 1
Yair Rodriguez with a right up top gets answered by a one-two from Ortega. Rodriguez goes to the body and then up top. Rodriguez lands a nice right cross then a nasty kick up top. A hard left puts Ortega down who goes for the takedown,. Yair throws him but he’s back up fast. The two are swinging in the center but Yair is eating body shots and his nose is wrecked. Yair with a front push kick followed by a right to the head. Ortega is gushing blood out of his nose.
Nice body kick by Ortega. Yair throws a leg kick that Ortega catches. Ortega jumps guard and Yair follows him down into his guard, throwing shots the whole time. Yair postures up and throws two hard shots. Back into the closed guard Yair goes. Ortega trying to get hooks in to take the back but Rodriguez is defending well. Ortega drags Yair back down and he immediately passes to full mount. Horn sounds, round over.
Round 2
Brian Ortega comes out hot pumping the jab. Yair Rodriguez answers with a few of his own. Ortega smothering Yair against the cage. Back to the center and a huge left by Yair lands. Ortega goes for the single but is stuffed. Ortega gets a nasty blast double up against the cage but Yair goes for the guillotine. And he’s out of it. Ortega moves into half guard and starts landing some ground-and-pound.
Ortega gradually moving Yair away from the fence. Ortega landing some heavy elbows as Yair keepos him from passing. Ortega back in full guard and posturing up to land a couple shots. Rodriguez is working to keep control of Brian’s hands. Yair is split open under the right eye and is bleeding heavily. Ortega still landing hard shots from the top. These elbows from Ortega are nasty. Round over. Great turnaround by Ortega.
Round 3
Yair Rodriguez comes out with a hard one-two but Brian Ortega has already moved in and is working for the body lock. Ortega hooks the leg, gets the trip and drags him down and is already working the elbows. He swings off to the side and locks in the arm triangle choke. Yair taps and its all over! And he did it after rolling his ankle before the fight started!
Official Decision
Brian Ortega def. Yair Rodriguez via submission (arm triangle) at :58 of round 3
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 Quick Results
Main card
- – Brandon Royval def. Brandon Moreno via split decision (48-47, 49-46, 47-48): Flyweight
- – Brian Ortega def. Yair Rodriguez via submission (arm triangle) at :58 of round 3: Featherweight
- – Daniel Zellhuber def. Francisco Prado by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Lightweight
- – Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios: Bantamweight (cancelled due to Rosas Jr. illness)
- – Yazmin Jauregui def. Sam Hughes by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Strawweight
- – Manuel Torres def. Chris Duncan by submission (RNC) at 1:46 of round 1: Lightweight
Prelims
- – Raoni Barcelos def. Cristian Quiñonez by submission (RNC) at 2:04 of round 3: Bantamweight
- – Jesus Aguilar def. Mateus Mendonça by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Flyweight
- – Edgar Cháirez def. Daniel Lacerda by submission (Triangle) at of round 1: Flyweight
- – Fares Ziam def. Claudio Puelles by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29): Lightweight
- – Ronaldo Rodríguez def. Denys Bondar by submission (RNC) at 4:59 of round 2: Flyweight
- – Felipe dos Santos def. Victor Altamirano by split decision (29-28 x2, 27-30): Flyweight
- – Muhammad Naimov def. Erik Silva by TKO at :44 of round 1: Featherweight
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 streaming & ticket info
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 takes place on February 24th, at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. The main card starts at 10 p.m. ET. The preliminary card begins at 7:00 p.m. ET. If you just so happen to be out in Mexico and want to witness UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 live, you can purchase tickets by clicking here. UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 can be live streamed on ESPN+ in the United States and Canada. For full streaming details, and compatible devices go here.