Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez squared off in a Featherweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Feb. 24, 2024) at UFC Mexico City inside Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. After a tough first round, Ortega rallied to submit Rodriguez.
Just like the first fight, Ortega opened the contest with heavy pressure, firing any time he was vaguely within range of Rodriguez. “Pantera” held a huge speed advantage, however, and he timed Ortega early with a massive counter shot the sent him to the floor. He chased the finish with an aggressive flurry of heavy punches and ripping liver kicks, but “T-City” managed to survive.
Halfway through the first round, Ortega’s legs seemed to have returned, and he landed a couple decent strikes of his own. Rodriguez kept the momentum in his corner by flooring Ortega with a sweeping low kick. He followed Ortega to the mat, smashing him into the canvas with nasty ground strikes. Shockingly, Rodriguez attacked with a calf slicer, which allowed Ortega to scramble up and start wrestling.
Ortega actually finished the round in mount, but he wasn’t able to do any damage before the bell range.
Despite all the damage, Ortega kept pressuring and punching early in the second. Rodriguez seemed to have slowed down to regular human levels of speed, which allowed Ortega to find his mark a bit more often and get a hold of “Pantera.” A minute into the round, Ortega had picked his opponent up and completed a powerful double leg into top position.
Working within the guard, Ortega patiently controlled his opponent and started landing some punishing shots. The elbows started getting really nasty, and Rodriguez’s face began to bleed freely. Talk about a change of fortunes compared to the first five minutes!
Ortega pushed into a clinch right away in the third round, tripping Rodriguez to the floor very quickly — a very bad omen for “Pantera!” Just a few seconds later, Ortega was advancing into mount and attacking the arm triangle choke.
Rodriguez’s face twisted in pain, and he tapped quickly.
Is there anything more classic than a third-round “T-City” submission win? It’s been too many years! Ortega is one of the best at absorbing damage then continuing to fight without issue, and Rodriguez fell into that trap after chasing the finish in round one.
Who should Ortega face next?
Result: Ortega defeats Rodriguez via third-round arm triangle choke
For complete UFC Mexico City: “Moreno vs. Royval 2” results and play-by-play, click HERE!
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
