Few would dispute that UFC men's featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former champ Max Holloway are the two best 145-pounders in MMA.
Right behind them? We might find out on Saturday afternoon, when Brian Ortega meets Yair Rodriguez in a matinee main event of UFC Fight Night in Elmont, New York.
Ortega is 15-2 with a no contest, and the only losses came against Volkanovski and Holloway. In fact, Ortega has not fought since his unsuccessful challenge of Volkanovski last September. He is No. 4 in the ESPN featherweight rankings.
The ninth-ranked Rodriguez (13-3, 1 NC) is coming off a loss to Holloway in November. Prior to that, he had been on a run of 12 fights with just one defeat, that coming against another former UFC champ, Frankie Edgar.
Saturday's main card at UBS Arena on Long Island is on ABC and ESPN+, starting at 2 p.m. ET. The prelims are on ESPN and ESPN+ at 11 a.m.
How to watch the fights
Watch the main card on ABC: Watch ABC TV
Watch the prelims on ESPN: WatchESPN | TV schedule
Stream all of the fights on ESPN+: Download the ESPN App
Don't have ESPN? Get instant access.
Don't have ESPN+? Get it here.
There's also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
Saturday's UFC fight card
ABC/ESPN+, 2 p.m. ET
Men's featherweight: Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodríguez
Strawweight: Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Lemos
Welterweight: Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov
Men's flyweight: Matt Schnell vs. Su Mudaerji
Men's featherweight: Shane Burgos vs. Charles Jourdain
Women's flyweight: Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
ESPN/ESPN+, 11 a.m. ET
Men's bantamweight: Ricky Simón vs. Jack Shore
Middleweight: Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Punahele Soriano
Men's featherweight: Bill Algeo vs. Herbert Burns
Light heavyweight: Dustin Jacoby vs. Da-Un Jung
Middleweight: Dwight Grant vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
Strawweight: Jessica Penne vs. Emily Ducote
Ian Parker's betting tip
"For Ortega, he has a clear path to victory -- getting the fight to the ground and keeping it there. However, if he fails to do so, he will be in for a long night, as Rodriguez is an elite striker and Ortega is known to take a lot of damage. I am surprised at the odds here -- Rodriguez as a +140 underdog -- as I figured it would be closer to even. I believe Rodriguez's takedown defense has improved, which will help to keep the fight on the feet."
For Parker's suggested bet on the main event and his advice on other fights on Saturday's card, check out the ESPN+ expert picks and best bets article (link below). It also features analysis by Xtreme Couture coach Eric Nicksick and ESPN's other betting expert, Reed Kuhn.
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