Brian Ortega is favored against Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Rodriguez on Saturday, July 16 in Elmont, New York. This event is one of six fights on the main ABC/ ESPN+ card. Ortega is 15-2 in his career, while Rodriguez is 13-3 in his career. There are a total of 13 fights, with six on ABC/ESPN+ and seven on ESPN/ESPN+ at UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Rodriguez. Let’s look at the bout between Ortega and Rodriguez and UFC predictions.
UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Rodriguez takes place at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York on Saturday, July 16 with 13 fights, six on ABC/ESPN+ and seven on ESPN/ESPN+.
UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Rodriguez Betting
Brian Ortega (15-2, 7-2 UFC)
Ortega came into the UFC with a record of 8-0 and he has seven wins and two losses in the UFC. He defeated Thiago Tavares by TKO, Diego Brandao by triangle choke submission, Clay Guida by KO, Renato Moicano by guillotine choke submission, Cub Swanson by guillotine choke submission, Frankie Edgar by KO, and Chan Sung Jung by unanimous decision; while losing to Max Holloway by TKO and Alexander Volkanovski by unanimous decision. Ortega has been a pro since 2010 and he has three wins by TKO/KO and seven by submission. He has four first round finishes.
Yair Rodriguez (13-3, 8-2 UFC)
Rodriguez came into the UFC with a record of 5-1 and he has eight wins and two losses in the UFC. He defeated Leonardo Morales by unanimous decision, Charles Rosa by split decision, Dan Hooker by unanimous decision, Andre Fili by KO, Alex Caceres by split decision, B.J. Penn by KO, Chan Sung Jung by KO, and Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision; while losing to Frankie Edgar by TKO and Max Holloway by unanimous decision. Rodriguez has been a pro since 2011 and he has four wins by TKO/KO and three by submission. He has three first round finishes.
Rodriguez said this to mmamania.com about his upcoming fight against Ortega, “First things first, I’m going to win this fight and then give the champ some time to heal and yeah, go for it. For now, let’s take it step by step, first things first, July 16, Brian Ortega, that’s for now.”
Rodriguez also said this to mmafighting.com about his upcoming fight against Ortega, “We didn’t want to fight each other unless we had to. Now this is an opportunity for both of us, and we have to fight each other. As I’ve said before, it’s not the opponent I wanted, but the opportunity I wanted. Here we are facing each other with this big opportunity. It’s an important fight.”
Josh Emmett said this to sportskeeda.com about the upcoming matchup between Ortega and Rodriguez, “Yair [is a] fast, explosive fighter, a great stand-up. Obviously, Brian Ortega is one of the best jiu-jitsu guys in the division... I'll go, maybe with Ortega. That's going to be a great fight, you know? Tough fight for both of them.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Ortega 4.15 / Rodriguez 4.65
Striking Accuracy: Ortega 38% / Rodriguez 45%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Ortega 6.69 / Rodriguez 4.09
Defense: Ortega 49% / Rodriguez 53%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Ortega 0.87 / Rodriguez 0.86
Takedown Accuracy: Ortega 24% / Rodriguez 28%
Takedowns defended: Ortega 56% / Rodriguez 60%
Submission average: Ortega 1.2 / Rodriguez 0.8
UFC Picks
We should be in store for an excellent main event, as Ortega and Rodriguez have almost identical records and their skills are similar. It is a little surprising that Ortega is listed as a solid favorite. On paper, I actually give Rodriguez a slight edge in terms of overall statistics. I think it is always worth considering the underdog in a fight that looks to be even and this one definitely looks even. I’ll take a shot with Rodriguez at the plus price. There are also some interesting round props to consider. Since this fight looks so even, there is a good chance it goes over the rounds total. I think I prefer going over 2.5 rounds and laying the small price rather than trying to hope it goes the distance and getting the even money price.
| DATE | FIGHTERS | MONEY LINE |
| 07/16 | Yair Rodriguez | +135 |
| Brian Ortega | -170 |
| 07/16 | Michelle Waterson | +264 |
| Amanda Lemos | -355 |
| 07/16 | Jingliang Li | +139 |
| Muslim Salikhov | -175 |
| 07/16 | Matt Schnell | +214 |
| Su Mudaerji | -280 |
| 07/16 | Ricky Simon | +137 |
| Jack Shore | -173 |
| 07/16 | Charles Jourdain | +146 |
| Shane Burgos | -185 |
| 07/16 | Dalcha Lungiambula | +186 |
| Punahele Soriano | -240 |
| 07/16 | Da Un Jung | -105 |
| Dustin Jacoby | -125 |
| 07/16 | Dustin Stoltzfus | +124 |
| Dwight Grant | -155 |
| 07/16 | Jessica Penne | +127 |
| Emily Ducote | -160 |
| 07/16 | Lauren Murphy | +168 |
| Miesha Tate | -215 |
| 07/16 | Herbert Burns | +143 |
| Bill Algeo | -180 |
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