UFC Fight Night: Brian Ortega Vs Yair Rodriguez Press Conference
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Vladimir Vladisavljevic
UFC Fight Night: Ortega Vs Rodriguez kicks off a bit earlier this Saturday, so it’s gonna be a piece of cake for the European fans of the fastest-growing martial art in the world. Every single fighter hit the scale for the upcoming fight night event.
The main event's gonna be a banger, the magic starts every time “El Pantera” steps inside the Octagon.
When @PanteraUFC hits the Octagon, you KNOW something crazy is about to happen 🍿
But this UFC press conference might be bitter-sweet for the fans of heated word exchange. The greatest number of UFC fight Night New York’s fighters were very cautious heading into the fight, and many bouts were booked on short notice.
Brian Ortega And Yair Rodriguez Didn’t Plan To Fight Each Other
ALL THE TRANSCRIPTS WERE TAKEN FROM THE VIDEOS
Speaking in Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Yair confessed that he didn’t want to square off against a good friend of his. But this is a one-time ranking opportunity, he can’t miss it.
“We didn’t want to fight each other unless we had to. Now, this is an opportunity for both of us, and we have to fight each other. As I said before, this is not the opponent I wanted but the opportunity I wanted and here we are facing each other for this big opportunity. So, it’s an important fight like you said.”
Yair also revealed that the promotion offered him a title bout if he defeats the dangerous submission specialist Brian Ortega.
“Yes, that (title shot if I win) has been said to me.”
Brian Ortega also didn’t want to participate in the bout against Yair, but there’s a lot of respect between the two Mexican Octagon warriors. Both come from the same culture, and same heritage, Ortega is the first generation born and raised in the USA, while Yair spent his whole life in Mexico.
“I think it’s a great matchup, a war stylistically from our cultures to everything.”, Ortega said. “Mexico, man, I like the noise, we’re fighting each other we’re still united in this aspect, this could be an instant classic.”
“This is obviously someone who I wouldn’t or didn’t want to face and now, now we’re facing each other. It’s bittersweet I guess.”
UFC Fight Night: Ortega Vs Rodriguez Media Day Highlights
You can check the media day highlights at the MMA Junkie’s UFC on ABC 3 playlist. There were many entertaining statements and very little trash talk.
Lauren Murphy vs Miesha Tate failed to come to fruition once, and journalists asked all kinds of unpleasant questions. Murphy confessed that she should have withdrawn from the Valentina Shevchenko title fight. Her opponent Miesha Tate hopes to meet “Bullet” in a title bout with a victory over Lauren.
Shane Burgos calls Charles Jourdain’s fight “a f*cking awesome fight to end the UFC contract”. Jourdain showed a lot of respect, calling Burgos “a very scary man” who takes damage.
Su Mudaerji believes he’s two fights away from a flyweight title shot, while his opponent Matt Schnell described his tough “back against the wall” situation.
Li Jingliang talked about his loss to “very smart” Khamzat Chimaev and didn’t look worried about the fight against Salikhov. On the other hand, Muslim Salikhov joked around, saying “my history in China prompted Li Jingliang bout”.
Michelle Waterson confessed that she has a new look following a career-threatening injury, while Amanda Lemos said she was “chasing Waterson for a while”. The Brazilian also stated she’d be looking for a finish.
Despite Yair repeating that he had never wanted to fight Ortega, he also stated that he hoped for a title shot with a potential victory. Brian Ortega looked back at his title shot losses, but commented positively, saying “I still see greatness in my future”. Maybe he’ll defeat the 145-pound champ if Yair gets floored or submitted, you never know.
There aren't many legends on this card, but many fighters like to brawl and fight toe-to-toe. Both old-school and new-era UFC fans are gonna enjoy this one – this card is stacked with both tactical experts and aggressive brawlers!
