Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez Agree to Headlining Bout at UFC Event on July 16

A featherweight showdown between Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez has been targeted for the main event of a UFC card on July 16.

ESPN Deportes was first to report that both fighters have verbally agreed to the pairing. A location for the event has not been determined.

The 31-year-old Ortega is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski in a 145-pound title bout at UFC 266 last September. “T-City” is 0-2 in championship fights, with a fourth-round stoppage loss to Max Holloway in December 2018 on his resume. Ortega is 15-2 as professional with notable wins over the likes of Chan Sung Jung, Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, Renato Carneiro and Clay Guida.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, last appeared at UFC Fight Night 197 this past November, when he dropped a five-round verdict against Holloway in his first bout since October 2019. The Mexican featherweight is 8-2 with one no contest in the Las Vegas-based promotion and owns notable triumphs against the likes of Jeremy Stephens, Jung, B.J. Penn, Alex Caceres and Dan Hooker.