UFC On ABC 3
The UFC will be invading the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York on Saturday July 16 for UFC on ABC 3. The main event will be a key fight in the featherweight division between #2 Brian Ortega and #3 Yair Rodriguez.
Ortega is trying to rebound from a brutal title loss in his last fight against champion Alexander Volkanovski in September at UFC 266. The 31-year-old is now 0-2 in title fights but a win on Saturday preserves his place as a title threat, for at least the immediate future.
Ortega was about as close as you can get to choking out a fighter in his last championship fight but somehow Volkanovski survived a chaotic third round in their fight and went on to dominate the championship rounds. It is unclear who Volkanovski will fight next after beating Max Holloway for a third time at UFC 276, but Ortega can stay in the conversation should he defeat Rodriguez.
The Los Angeles native would love to get another shot at Volkanovski and the belt. “I would love that personally because I feel like from what the world’s seeing is he’s won the belt, he’s defended the belt, and the one person that gave him the hardest time was me,” Ortega said. “I put him in the most danger he’s ever been in his career.
“I just put him in the most danger and people noticed that, people saw. I’m just a deadly opponent for him. Obviously I’m always gonna train to win, to fight this guy and beat this guy. I believe I have the tools and capabilities to do so if I play my cards right. So it’s all about seeing how I can play my cards right and going in there and finishing this man.”
Does Ortega believe he will be granted a third title shot with a win on Saturday? “It’s hard for me to decide, honestly,” Ortega said. “I could see a lot of people lately be like, ‘This guy, you already got two shots.’ So at this point it ain’t my job anymore. I need to do may job and fight and win and basically see where politics and how this sh*t goes out.”
Ortega has key wins in his career over Chan Sung Jung, Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, Renato Moicano and Clay Guida. Rodriguez poses a different striking threat than anyone Ortega has previously fought, but if he can win convincingly, he will most certainly be sniffing a third title shot.
Like Ortega, Rodriguez is also trying to rebound from a loss in his last fight where he lost by unanimous decision to former champion max Holloway in November. Since joining the UFC in 2014 the 29-year-old has gone 8-2-1 with both losses coming to former champions. Should he defeat Ortega on Saturday, he poses an interesting matchup and new blood for the champion Volkanovski.
Will Rodriguez be granted the title shot with a win over Ortega? “Yes, that has been said to me,” Rodriguez said when asked if he or his management has been told a win gets him a title shot. “That’s what we’re looking for. First things first, I’m going to win this fight and then give the champ some time to heal and, yeah, go for it. Right now let’s just take it step-by-step. First thing’s first July 16th, Brian Ortega.”
The Mexican fighter knows if he does get a title shot, he will have to step his game up in order to defeat Volkanovski after seeing his last win over Holloway. “Wow. That’s all I can say. He looked amazing,” Rodriguez said. “It was eye-opening for me, and I better get ready for that if I want to be the champion. If I want to be the champion I’m going to have to put some work because he’s tough. He’s really tough.”
Rodriguez has key wins in his career over Jeremy Stephens, Chan Sung Jung, B.J. Penn, Alex Caceres and Dan Hooker. A win on Saturday would be the biggest of his career thus far.
The rest of the main card:
Women's Strawweight - #10 Michelle Waterson vs. #11 Amanda Lemos
Welterweight - #14 Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov
Flyweight - #8 Matt Schnell vs #12 Su Mudaerji
Featherweight - #14 Shane Burgos vs. Charles Jourdain
Women's Flyweight - #3 Lauren Murphy vs. #10 Miesha Tate
ESPN Prelims:
Middleweight - Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Punahele Soriano
Bantamweight - #13 Ricky Simón vs. #14 Jack Shore
Featherweight - Bill Algeo vs. Herbert Burns
Light Heavyweight - #15 Dustin Jacoby vs. Da Un Jung
Middleweight - Dwight Grant vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
Women's Strawweight – #14 Jessica Penne vs. Emily Ducote
