The UFC hosts another Fight Night event in Las Vegas. This time the main card will see two of the best featherweights go at it – Brian Ortega is ranked second, and Yair Rodriguez is third in the division. The bout will decide who gets a title shot against Volkanovski next.
Get up-to-date odds and pre-fight info for all main card bouts at the next UFC Fight Night.
UFC Fight Night – Ortega Vs. Rodriguez
- Date: Saturday, July 16
- Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States
- Prelims: 7:30 PM ET
- Main Card: 10:00 PM ET
- How to Stream UFC Fight Night online: View on ESPN+ or with the UFC Fight Pass
Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez
The main event is set for five rounds between two of the best featherweights in the division. Both are amazing strikers that can finish any opponent standing, but Ortega also has some outstanding grappling and submission tools he will want to use.
Brian Ortega showed huge heart in his championship fight against Volkanovski at UFC 266. He fell short after the Aussie stuffed out some of his amazing submission attempts. The fight went the distance but Ortega hadn’t done enough to secure the win. Since then he has gone back to the drawing board and looks fresh for this fight.
The 31-year-old has a 67% finish rate, with three knockouts, seven submissions, and five decision victories. He has lost two fights from three and will look to get back to his winning ways, to get another title shot in the works.
“T-City” enters the Octagon as the sportsbooks‘ pick to get the job done. He is the favorite, with odds at -165.
Yair Rodriguez enters as an underdog to beat Ortega, despite having a height and reach advantage over him.
The Mexican is 1-2 in shared competition – while both lost to Max Holloway, Rodriguez also lost to Frankie Edgar – whereas Ortega knocked him out in the first round.
“El Pantera” last fought Max Holloway, the fight went the distance, but it was unanimously awarded to Holloway. The 29-year-old will be eager to prove the bookmakers wrong and get a win for another shot at the belt.
The taekwondo black belt enters with a 54% finish rate, six knockouts, three submission wins, and six decision victories.
| Brian Ortega | vs | Yair Rodriguez |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Age | 29 |
| 18 | Fights | 19 |
| 15 | Wins | 13 |
| 2 | Losses | 3 |
| 3 | KO’s | 6 |
| 7 | Subs | 3 |
| 5′ 8 | Height (feet) | 5′ 11 |
| 69 | Reach (inches) | 71 |
| 144.00 | Weight (lbs) | 145.50 |
| Loss | Last Fight | Loss |
Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Lemos
This co-main event will see Amanda Lemos attempt to break into the top ten. She will need to defeat Michelle Waterson to do so and is the heavy favorite to get the win.
Michelle Waterson is on a bit of a slide, she has lost three of her last four bouts. Most recently she went five rounds against Marina Rodriguez, with the judges awarding her opponent the win.
“The Karate Hottie” enters with a 67% finish rate, with three knockouts, nine submissions, and six decision wins.
Amanda Lemos is on much better form – she was on a five-fight win streak until it was snapped by Jessica Andrade in April. The Brazilian has some impressive finishes in the UFC, including first-round knockouts against Livinha Souza and Montserrat Conejo.
The 31-year-old is a heavy favorite despite having less experience. Lemos does have a slight reach and height advantage, and a much more dangerous record.
“Amandinha” has an 82% finish rate, with seven knockout wins, two successful submissions, and two decision victories.
| Michelle Waterson | vs | Amanda Lemos |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | Age | 35 |
| 27 | Fights | 14 |
| 18 | Wins | 11 |
| 9 | Losses | 2 |
| 3 | KO’s | 7 |
| 9 | Subs | 2 |
| 5′ 3 | Height (feet) | 5′ 4 |
| 62 | Reach (inches) | 65 |
| 125.00 | Weight (lbs) | 115.00 |
| Loss | Last Fight | Loss |
Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov
This welterweight matchup will see if Li Jingliang can stop another Russian missile from bursting into the top of the rankings. He failed to stop Chimaev and is an underdog to win again in this fight.
Jingliang may have lost two of his last three fights, but they were against some of the best in the division. Out of his last five fights, he has knocked out three of his opponents, getting the win against David Zawada, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, and Santiago Ponzinbbio in style.
“The Leech” has a 73% finish rate, with eight knockout victories, five submission wins, and five decisions.
Muslim Salikhov is on a five-fight win streak and has only suffered two professional losses in his career. He last faced Francisco Trinaldo last month and dominated for a decision win.
The “King of Kung Fu” is four years older than his opponent, and will have to overcome a slight reach disadvantage. Despite this, the Russian is the favorite, with odds set at -170 on him to win.
The 38-year-old has a 78% finish rate, with 11 knockouts, three submission wins, and four decision victories.
| Li Jingliang | vs | Muslim Salikhov |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | Age | 38 |
| 25 | Fights | 20 |
| 18 | Wins | 18 |
| 7 | Losses | 2 |
| 8 | KO’s | 11 |
| 5 | Subs | 3 |
| 6′ 0 | Height (feet) | 5′ 10 |
| 72 | Reach (inches) | 69.5 |
| 171.00 | Weight (lbs) | 171.00 |
| Loss | Last Fight | Win |
Matt Schnell vs. Sumudaerji
This flyweight bout will see “The Tibetan Eagle” try and sore past Matt Schnell into the top ten rankings.
Schnell has only won one of his last four fights – his single victory against Tyson Nam was a close one – getting the win via split decision.
“Danger” is a slight underdog to win. He has a slight reach disadvantage to overcome but has a few more professional fights under his belt.
The American has a 74% finish rate, with two knockouts, nine submission wins, and four decision victories.
Sumudaerji was submitted by Louis Smolka upon entering the UFC back in 2018. Since then though, he has beat everyone he has faced. Quickly climbing to the number 11 spot in the rankings.
He knocked out Malcolm Gordon in 44 seconds, and made light work of Andre Soukhamthath, and most recently Zarrukh Adashev. A win for the Chinese fighter will propel him into the top ten, and see him make a run for the belt.
The 26-year-old has a 88% finish rate, with 13 knockouts, one submission, and two decision wins. He is currently on a three-fight win streak and is the sportsbooks’ pick to win with odds of -225.
| Matt Schnell | vs | Sumudaerji |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Age | 26 |
| 24 | Fights | 20 |
| 15 | Wins | 16 |
| 7 | Losses | 4 |
| 2 | KO’s | 13 |
| 9 | Subs | 1 |
| 5′ 8 | Height (feet) | 5′ 8 |
| 70 | Reach (inches) | 72 |
| 125.50 | Weight (lbs) | 125.00 |
| Loss | Last Fight | Win |
Shane Burgos vs. Charles Jourdain
This is a featherweight bout between two of the most dangerous up-and-coming strikers in the division.
Shane Burgos enters as the favorite to win and will have a pretty massive 6.5 reach over Jourdain. Both have similar professional records, with plenty of knockouts to their names, so we can expect an exciting fight.
“Hurricane” snapped his two-fight losing streak with a win against Billy Quarantillo at UFC 268. He will be eager to get on a winning streak and break into the top ten rankings.
The 31-year-old has a 72% finish rate, with five knockouts, five submission victories, and four decision wins.
This is a big step up in competition for Charles Jourdain. He has only lost one fight from his last five and impressed us in April with a first-round submission win against Lando Vannata.
The Canadian enters with a 93% finish rate, eight knockouts, four submission wins, and one decision victory.
He might be the underdog in this bout, but he’s proven he has what it takes to upset the odds many times before.
| Shane Burgos | vs | Charles Jourdain |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Age | 26 |
| 17 | Fights | 18 |
| 14 | Wins | 13 |
| 3 | Losses | 4 |
| 5 | KO’s | 8 |
| 5 | Subs | 4 |
| 5′ 11 | Height (feet) | 5′ 9 |
| 75.5 | Reach (inches) | 69 |
| 145.60 | Weight (lbs) | 144.50 |
| Win | Last Fight | Win |
UFC Fight Night Prelims
- Ricky Simon vs. Jack Shore (bantamweight bout)
- Punahele Soriano vs. Dalcha Lungiambula (middleweight bout)
- Bill Algeo vs. Billy Quarantillo (featherweight bout)
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Da-Un Jung (light-heavyweight bout)
- Dwight Grant vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (middleweight bout)
- Herbert Burns vs. Khusein Ashhabov (bantamweight bout)
- Phil Rowe vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov (welterweight bout)
- Jessica Penne vs. Emily Ducote (women’s strawweight bout)
View the latest betting odds for all upcoming UFC fights.
Based in California, James William writes about golf, tennis, UFC and the (sometimes complicated) world of betting on sports. A big lover of live poker, James also takes care of casino reviews for Vegas-Odds.com.
