Brian Ortega captured his first win since 2020 earlier tonight (Sat., Feb. 24, 2024) at UFC Mexico City live on ESPN+ from inside Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, when the featherweight contender stopped Yair Rodriguez with an impressive third-round submission (arm-triangle choke).
This was a rematch from their initial meeting at UFC on ABC 3 back in 2022. The fight didn’t even last a round as Ortega suffered a shoulder injury and couldn’t continue. Funny enough, Ortega seemed to badly roll his ankle during Saturday’s main event introductions. He thankfully shook it off, but it got fans wondering if the fight was cursed.
In the first round, Rodriguez did a ton of damage. He clobbered Ortega with long punches, knees inside, and whipping leg kicks, leaving “T-City” bloody just minutes into the fight. “El Pantera” even gained top control to score heavy ground-and-pound. Ortega flipped the script in the second round with vicious ground-and-pound of his own and considerable top time to get himself back into the fight.
Ortega went back to the well in Round 3. He walked through Rodriguez’s offensive attacks to close the gap and score another takedown. From there, Ortega positioned himself to mount before locking in the arm-triangle choke and forcing the eventual tap. It was a great way for “T-City” to announce his return to the featherweight title picture.
Check out the final moments below along with Ortega’s pre-fight ankle roll:
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