Who is the next man to challenge Alexander Volkanovski’s dominant reign at the top of the UFC featherweight division?
That’s the question the UFC intends to answer on Saturday night, as 145-pound contenders Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez go head to head in the main event of UFC on ABC 3 in Long Island, New York.
Ortega has challenged for the featherweight title twice before, but fell short on both occasions in bouts that both earned Fight of the Night honours. Those defeats represent the only losses on his record. “T-City’s” last appearance saw him push reigning champ Volkanovski to the limit, as the Californian came close to submitting the Australian on multiple occasions before eventually losing out on the scorecards. As the man who arguably gave “Volk” the toughest night of his title reign, Ortega will look to push his claims for a championship rematch by securing victory over dangerous Mexican Rodriguez on Saturday night.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, is still chasing his first title shot and is looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision defeat to former champion Max Holloway in November 2021. That bout was also a Fight of the Night effort, as Rodriguez went toe to toe with Holloway in a thrilling back and forth clash. Victory over Ortega should position “El Pantera” as the number one contender, and the spectacular striker will look to showcase his eye-catching techniques against his opponent on Saturday night.
Ahead of the matchup, former UFC welterweight title challenger and globally respected fight analyst Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy dives into the X’s and O’s of the matchup as he breaks down the matchup in “The War Room.”
Check out Dan’s analysis via the video below.
