Las Vegas – UFC® will return to ABC for a third time with a thrilling battle between top featherweight contenders that has championship implications on the line when No. 2 ranked Brian Ortega takes on No. 3 Yair Rodriguez.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: ORTEGA vs. RODRIGUEZ will take place Saturday, July 16 at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, N.Y. The main card will air live on ABC at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT and will be simulcast in English and Spanish on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. The prelims will kick off on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT.
UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: ORTEGA vs. RODRIGUEZ tickets will go on sale Friday, June 3 at 10 a.m. ET and are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, June 1 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, June 2 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
Former featherweight title challenger Ortega (15-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.) returns to the Octagon for the first time in almost a year. An elite grappler with knockout power, Ortega has impressed fans with highlight-reel finishes of Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson and Renato Moicano. He now intends to regain his momentum in the division by becoming the first person to submit Rodriguez.
Rodriguez (14-3, 1 NC, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) aims to secure his first shot at UFC gold with another showstopping performance. Considered a top prospect since he joined the UFC at 22 years old, Rodriguez has proven himself to be among the best fighters in the world with stoppages over BJ Penn, Chan Sung Jung and Andre Fili. He now plans to make a statement against Ortega and jump to the top of the rankings.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- Elite flyweights No. 3 ranked Askar Askarov (14-1-1, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia) and No. 6 Alex Perez (24-6, fighting out of Lemoore, Calif.) look to steal the show
- Top 15 bantamweights lock horns as No. 12 ranked Ricky Simon (19-3, fighting out of Vancouver, Wash.) faces undefeated No. 14 Jack Shore (16-0, fighting out of Abertillery, Wales, UK)
- Ranked women’s strawweight action sees No. 10 Michelle Waterson (18-9, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) match up with No. 11 Amanda Lemos (11-2-1, fighting out of Para, Brazil)
- Bill Algeo (15-6, fighting out of King of Prussia, Penn.) and Billy Quarantillo (16-4, fighting out of Tampa, Fla.) meet in an exciting featherweight bout
- Welterweight strikers No. 13 ranked Li Jingliang (18-7, fighting out of Beijing, China) and Muslim Salikhov (18-2, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia) collide
- No. 9 ranked flyweight Matt Schnell (15-6, 1 NC, fighting out of Shreveport, La.) returns to action against No. 12 Sumudaerji (16-4, fighting out of Chengdu, Sichuan, China)
- Dwight Grant (11-5, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) makes his UFC middleweight debut against Dustin Stoltzfus (13-4, fighting out of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany)
- Herbert Burns (11-3, fighting out of Lantana, Fla. by way of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) competes at bantamweight for the first time against undefeated, highly regarded prospect Khusein Askhabov (23-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Grozny, Chechnya)
- A thrilling middleweight bout sees Punahele Soriano (8-2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) take on Dalcha Lungiambula (11-4, fighting out of Cape Town, South Africa)
- No. 15 ranked light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby (17-5-1, fighting out of Springfield, Ill.) has his sights set on defending his spot in the rankings against Da-un Jung (15-2-1, fighting out of Seoul, South Korea)
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
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About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 688 million fans and 198 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to nearly 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About UBS Arena
UBS Arena?at Belmont Park?is?made for music and built for hockey. New York’s newest premier entertainment and sports venue and home of the New York Islanders is developed in partnership with Oak View Group, the New York Islanders, and Jeff Wilpon. The?state?of?the?art?arena opened in November 2021 and has welcomed top artists including Harry Styles, Sebastian Maniscalco, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, TWICE, Eagles and John Mayer. The venue will host more than 150 major events annually, while delivering an unmatched live entertainment experience including clear sightlines and premier acoustics. In an effort to build a greener future, UBS Arena intends on being carbon neutral for operations by 2024.
Located on the historic grounds of Belmont Park,?UBS Arena is located seven miles from JFK International Airport and is accessible via car and ride share at exits 26A, 26B, and 26D off the Cross Island Parkway.??For guests using the Long Island Rail Road, UBS Arena will be accessible to East and Westbound travelers at the Queens Village LIRR station, Eastbound travelers at the brand new Elmont-UBS Arena Station (accessible Westbound in Fall 2022), and via the Belmont Spur station, operating from Jamaica on event days. In addition to the Long Island Rail Road, the arena is also accessible via MTA Bus Routes Q2 and Q110 and the Nassau County Inter-Express N6 bus service.?
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 22.3 million subscribers.
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Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o ads). Subscribers to Hulu + Live TV also receive ESPN+ at no additional cost.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.