"Studied a lot of tape" - Brian Ortega explains why he's better equipped to face Yair Rodriguez in upcoming rematch compared to first fight

Brian Ortega feels better equipped to face Yair Rodriguez in their upcoming rematch. The pair's original meeting at UFC on ABC 3 in 2022 came to an anti-climactic end as 'T-City' could not continue after dislocating his shoulder in the opening round, thereby handing a TKO win to 'El Pantera' by default.

This time around, however, the jiu-jitsu maestro believes that he has had a better camp and is well-versed in his opponent's tendencies. Speaking to Megan Olivi ahead of UFC Mexico City, he said:

"I think It's good, right, because I got time to study a lot of tape, a lot of things that he does, when he does it, how he does it, when he gets creative, [and] when he decides to kind of buckle down. So there is just kind of like a whole time to kind of focus and kind of prep for him better than I did in the first camp."

Catch Brian Ortega's comments about the Yair Rodriguez rematch below (1:40):

Ortega is currently on a two-fight skid, with his last win coming back in 2020 against the now-retired Chan Sung Jung. With the featherweight title changing hands last weekend at UFC 298, 'T-City' will be hoping to thrust himself back into title contention with a win against the No.3-ranked 'El Pantera'.

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Yair Rodriguez says he was hesitant to rematch Brian Ortega

It's always tough to fight someone you are friends with, and Yair Rodriguez is feeling the pressure en route to his rematch against Brian Ortega.

'El Pantera' had already addressed concerns regarding fighting 'T-City' ahead of their original meeting in 2022, and now, during the UFC pre-show ahead of their clash this weekend, Rodriguez reaffirmed said concerns, saying:

"I didn't want to fight him again, you know, because it's awkward. It's like weird every time we are fighting, you know, because of his family, my family, we're both Mexicans, but it's okay, the fight that the UFC offered to me was Brian Ortega, and I was like, okay, let's do it again."

Catch Yair Rodriguez's comments below (0:50):

Rodriguez is 19-4 with one No-Contest in his MMA career and boasts wins against B.J. Penn, Josh Emmett, and Jeremy Stephens, among others. He is a former interim featherweight champion and hopes to get into the title conversation again with a win this weekend.