Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez to headline UFC Fight Night at UBS Arena

Any questions about the next featherweight title contender after UFC 276 on July 2 in Las Vegas figure to get answered two weeks later and some 2,500 miles to the east when the mixed martial arts promotion returns to Long Island.

Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez will headline UFC Fight Night at UBS Arena in Elmont, home of the Islanders, on July 16. The card will air on ABC, the second time the network has aired UFC fights under ESPN’s broadcast deal. 

It is the first mixed martial arts event at the $1.1 billion facility at Belmont Park, which opened last November.

The event at UBS Arena marks the UFC’s second event on Long Island, the first coming in 2017 when Baldwin’s Chris Weidman headlined a card loaded with locals at Nassau Coliseum.

Ortega (15-2) last fought in September when he nearly submitted champion Alexander Volkanovski before losing a unanimous decision. Rodriguez (13-3, 1 no contest) also is coming off a loss in an incredible fight. He lost to Max Holloway by unanimous decision last November.

Volkanovski, on a 21-fight win streak that began in 2013, will defend his featherweight title against Holloway for the second time at UFC 276. It’s the third time they’ve faced one another, with Volkanovski winning by unanimous decision first, then by split decision in the rematch.

UFC Long Island at the Coliseum in the summer of 2017 drew 11,918 fans as six Long Islanders — Weidman, Dennis Bermudez, Gian Villante, Ryan LaFlare, Brian Kelleher and Chris Wade — and several New Yorkers competed on the card. Long Island also has hosted Bellator 208 and a handful of PFL events, in addition to local pro and amateur events promoted by Flex Fight Series, Ring of Combat and others.

By Mark La Monica

mark.lamonica@newsday.comLaMonicaMark

Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.