A featherweight rematch between former interim champion Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega will take place place at UFC Fight Night 237 in Mexico City, Mexico on February 24th.
The fight will serve as the co-main event for the show, headlined by Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi, but the UFC brass have acknowledged the magnitude of the fight by making it also a five-rounder.
Rodriguez and Ortega first fought in the main event of UFC On ABC 3 in July of last year, but the fight ended prematurely in unfortunate circumstances when Ortega suffered a freak dislocated shoulder injury late in the opening round, leading to Rodriguez being declared the winner via TKO.
Since then Rodriguez went on to win the 145lb interim title with a 2nd round submission finish of Josh Emmett back in February, but then lost to Alexander Volkanovski via TKO in a title unification bout at UFC 290 in July.
As for Ortega, he’s been out of action for a year-and-half since that defeat, leaving him on a two-fight losing streak as he’d also been beaten by Alexander Volkanovski in his title shot prior to that in September of 2021.
Rodriguez vs. Ortega joins a UFC Fight Night 237 card that will mark the promotion’s first visit to Mexico City since September of 2019, a show that was headlined by Rodriguez.
