Tomorrow night in the co-main event of UFC Mexico, we are going to see a big time rematch in the featherweight division. Former interim champ Yair Rodriguez (18-4) will be fighting in front of his home country as he takes on former title challenger Brian “T-City” Ortega (15-3).
Starting with Ortega, this is the first time that we’ve seen him in over a year and a half. In fact, the last time we saw Ortega was when he fought Yair Rodriguez back in 2022. In that fight, he suffered a serious shoulder injury in the first round which ended the fight. Injuries and lengthy layoffs have left us with only four Brian Ortega fights in almost six years.
Yair Rodriguez is fighting for the first time since his undisputed championship loss to Alexander Volkanovski back in July. That loss came on the heels of Rodriguez winning the interim title by stopping Jack Emmett in the second round of their fight. Rodriguez had flashes in the Volk fight, but he just couldn’t overcome Volkanovski. UFC Mexico is a big night for both men as they try to stay atop the featherweight title picture.
UFC Mexico Prediction
Yair Rodriguez usually starts fast and I expect that tomorrow night. I think you’ll see him extra amped up especially given the fact that he’s fighting in front of his home country. Having had such a lengthy layoff, I expect Ortega to ease himself into this fight tomorrow so for him, it’s going to be about surviving an early storm.
Big kicks and long combinations will be coming at Ortega, but I think he’ll make it through. I also expect him to land some nice counters back at Rodriguez. An interesting part of this fight is going to be how things go after the first round. This is a fight at elevation, it’s five rounds, and I’m a little concerned with Rodriguez’s cardio.
I think he’s going to go all out for a finish in the first couple of rounds and he might get it, but I don’t see it. Instead, I see a very tired Rodriguez getting taken down and submitted in the third or fourth round. I have T-City getting back in the win column at UFC Mexico.
Prediction: Brian Ortega by Submission – Round 3