UFC is finally back with a spectacle set to take place in New York this Saturday, July 16th. It is the former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez in a thrilling showdown of two elite fighters.
Sportsbook William Hill has the latest odds with the money line on Ortega at 1.57 and on Rodriguez at 2.37. Even though the odds are set in favor of Brian Ortega, Rodriguez is not far off.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 15th, 5:00 P.M. (EST)
Coming from San Pedro, California, Brian “T-City” Ortega will finally re-enter the octagon after a lengthy break from professional fighting. With a record of 15-2, this former featherweight title challenger will surely prove to be a formidable opponent. Even though the obvious favorite, it’s worth noting that Ortega hasn’t competed professionally since September last year after his defeat to current champion Alexander Volkanovski.
In this fight, Ortega came close to victory twice with his renowned submission techniques, however in the end this was not enough to win against a resilient fighter such as Volkanovski, thus losing the chance to challenge for the title.
His Mexican opponent, Yair Rodriguez, is also returning from a rather lengthy break from professional fighting after suffering a defeat to Max Holloway in November last year. Holloway won by unanimous decision destroying Rodriguez’s ambitions to challenge for the title anytime soon. Even so, this Mexican underdog has a formidable UFC record at 14-3 and is one of the elite fighters out there.
Some interesting odds to look out for in this fight card are the methods of result. Even though the obvious underdog, William Hill gives a better chance of winning by KO/TKO/DQ to Rodriguez at 5.00 than to Ortega who is at 6.00. This is perhaps because of Rodriguez’s unique fighting technique and expertise in taekwondo and boxing as opposed to Ortega’s black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 15th, 5:00 P.M. (EST)
Having said that, it becomes obvious as to why Ortega’s chances of winning by submission are at 3.50 while Rodriguez’s are at 19.00. A clearly superior fighter when it comes to close combat fighting, Ortega is the obvious favorite here. In the end, it will come down to who has the better technique.
The full fight card can be seen below:
Main card
- Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez; Featherweights
- Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Lemos; Strawweights
- Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov; Welterweights
- Matt Schnell vs. Su Mudaerji; Flyweights
- Shane Burgos vs. Charles Jourdain; Featherweights
- Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate; Flyweights
Prelims
- Ricky Simon vs. Jack Shore; Bantamweights
- Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Punahele Soriano; Middleweights
- Bill Algeo vs. Herbert Burns; Featherweights
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Da Un Jung; Light Heavyweights
- Dwight Grant vs. Dustin Stoltzfus; Middleweights
- Philip Rowe vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov; Welterweights
- Jessica Penne vs. Emily Ducote; Strawweights
