UFC Long Island: Brian Ortega suffers unfortunate shoulder injury against Yair Rodriguez

Yair Rodriguez technically gets an upset victory over Brian Ortega after an unfortunate fight-ending injury to Ortega’s shoulder. 

Unfortunately, one of the most highly anticipated main events of the year could not have ended more anticlimactically.

In his first fight back in the Octagon since a close loss to Alexander Volkanovski back in September, Brian Ortega had the crowd, the energy, and the momentum necessary to make another push for a title shot. A high-level matchup against Yair Rodriguez was likely the only thing separating him from another shot at UFC gold.

However, Ortega’s momentum would be cut short, as would his main event bout against Rodriguez. Four minutes and eleven seconds into the first round, the ref separated the fighters on the ground and waved off the bout, with Ortega laying flat on his back, his shoulder clearly pulled out of place.

Yair Rodriguez seems to be interested in a rematch with Brian Ortega

Rodriguez, the winner by TKO due to the injury, showed only appreciation for Ortega when speaking with Daniel Cormier after the bout. “It’s unfortunate that he, you know, dislocated his shoulder, or whatever. I already told him, we can run it back anytime.”

Rodriguez will obviously move up to the second-ranked position in the UFC featherweight rankings, taking Ortega’s spot. Current UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski has been calling for a shot at the UFC lightweight championship, likely looking for that matchup after rehabbing his hand.

This forces Rogriguez to take a non-title match next, potentially against the top-ranked featherweight, Max Holloway, or wait for the return of the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, which could potentially be until spring of 2023.

UFC Long Island: Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez takes place on Saturday, July 16, 2022, live from the UBS Arena in Long Island, NY. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your news and highlights.