UFC Long Island: Yair Rodriguez tops Brian Ortega in freak finish to main event
Brian Ortega is injured during his featherweight fight against Yair Rodríguez during UFC Long Island at UBS Arena on Saturday. Credit: /Anna Sergeeva
Some fights end with a bang.
UFC Long Island’s main event finished with a pop.
Brian Ortega suffered a dislocated shoulder early in Saturday’s showcase against Yair Rodriguez, who claimed victory at 4:11 of the first round inside UBS Arena at Belmont Park. Ortega and Rodriguez were grappling near the cage when Ortega suddenly fell back in pain, confirming his injury in his post-fight interview.
“Man, guys, I’m so [expletive] sorry man,” Ortega said. “I don’t know how this happened.”
The win puts Rodriguez (14-3, 1 no contest) in position for a potential title shot in the competitive UFC featherweight division, but the fighter and the 16,979 fans in attendance were left unsatisfied by the ending. Rodriguez, a friend of Ortega’s from the Southern California MMA scene, said he hopes they can try to fight again when the time is right.
“I prefer to win, I guess I did, but not the way I wanted," Rodriguez said. “We can run it back any time, but I would rather do it for a championship."
Following a brotherly hug during introductions, the fighters were content to trade punches early in the night, with Rodriguez following punches with quick leg kicks. Ortega (15-3, 1 NC) soon closed the distance, pushing Rodriguez into the cage and throwing knees while controlling the action for over a minute. When they finally separated, Rodriguez let his striking go with punches and a head kick, but Ortega again chose to grapple, this time getting Rodriguez down.
That’s when disaster struck for Ortega.
With Rodriguez on his back, Ortega attempted to posture up while Rodriguez held his arm, only for his shoulder to pop out of place.
"When I went to the floor, I went for the armbar and I was dropping really tight with his arm, trying to push him away to go for the armbar from the bottom," Rodriguez said. "And I think in the moment when he was trying to get the arm out from there, I saw him doing a face and I was like, 'OK, so something happened.' He goes to the floor, grabbed his shoulder, and I stopped fighting and I realized something was going on."
Ortega immediately fell back in pain, while a stunned Rodriguez sat up, checking on his friend-turned-foe before jumping atop the cage in celebration.
Lemos wraps up Waterson-Gomez. Michelle Waterson-Gomez tapped out of her bout against Amanda Lemos at 1:48 of the second round, even if referee Kevin MacDonald couldn’t see it.
After a back-and-forth beginning to the fight, Lemos jumped into a guillotine choke and brought Waterson-Gomez to the canvas. Waterson-Gomez slapped the back of Lemos to end the bout, but MacDonald was not in position to see the free arm. Lemos, however, relented, celebrating the bout after a brief moment of confusion in the cage.
"I waited for my right moment to engage with her and applied my skills and used my submission," Lemos said through a translator.
Ryan Gerbosi is an internet news manager for sports at Newsday.com. He also covers NYCFC and mixed martial arts and believes the designated hitter should be banned from baseball.
