UFC on ABC 3: Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez Preview, Odds, Prediction

The battle between Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez might give us the answer to the new (old) title challenger. The UFC on ABC 3 is, for many, the title eliminator, and to be honest, it wouldn’t be odd if this turns out to be true. Ortega recently clashed with Volkanovski and lost, while on the other side, Yair is back, and as an elite featherweight, he awaits the chance to attack the belt. The spectacle takes place in Elmont, New York, this Saturday night at 10 pm ET.

Preview

Brian Ortega (-167) had a chance to defeat Alexander Volkanovski and take the belt, but he missed it. The champ was in an inferior position a few times during their clash, mostly on the ground, but T-City couldn’t finish the business. 

On the other hand, once on his feet, Volkanovski dominated the octagon, inflicting pain to Ortega, who couldn’t control the distance nor defend from the champ’s jabs and hooks. However, as we already stated earlier, on the ground, the situation was different. Some believe that Ortega’s long absence from the octagon left some trace and that the outcome would be different if he had had more fights in recent times. 

Ortega had only two fights in the past two years, against Chan Sung Jung and Volkanovski. He beat the Korean Zombie via unanimous decision and lost the other bout the same way. He is one of the best grapplers among the featherweights, if not the best, but he sure does know how to win on feet. These guys were his victims: Diego Brandao, Clay Guida, Renato Moicano, Cub Swanson, and Frankie Edgar.

Yair Rodriguez (+135) lost the last bout as well, and that was against Max Holloway in November last year. This was the Mexican’s first trip inside the octagon following almost two years and a win over Jeremy Stephens. He was troubled by numerous injuries, but in his return, El Pantera showed little rust. 

He did lose to Max Holloway, but we can say that it was a close bout and that he inflicted a pretty brutal beating on Max. When looking at their faces after the fight, you couldn’t tell who won. Rodriguez was all over Max with his leg kicks and combos, and watching him dancing and hitting the Blessed was a pleasure. 

Though, his defense wasn’t that shinny, and that’s why Holloway managed to find a way to crack his stance and hit Rodriguez. El Pantera has two defeats in the UFC, one against Holloway and the second vs. Edgar in 2017. He holds wins over Dan Hookr, Andre Fili, BJ Penn, Chan Sung Jung and Stephens. 

Prediction

We think Ortega’s physicality might be a huge factor in this one and that he might drag Rodriguez on the mat, where he isn’t as dominant as on his feet. We don’t know what is Rodriguez’s takedown defense now, because there was no need to use it against Holloway. That is the only reason we give a slight advantage in this battle to T-City. The odds on his victory are -167.

Pick: Ortega wins -167