Brian Ortega’s long-awaited return at UFC Mexico City turned out to be one to remember.
Fighting the first time since July 2022, the two-time title challenger scored a wild come-from-behind win over Yair Rodriguez, overcoming a rocky opening round to submit Rodriguez with a third-round arm-triangle choke in UFC Mexico City’s co-main event. For his handiwork, Ortega cashed an extra $50,000 in Performance of the Night bonus money, the eighth post-fight bonus of his UFC career.
Ortega’s win headlined a quartet of post-fight bonuses awarded at UFC Mexico City. Lightweight prospect Manuel Torres earned the card’s other Performance of the Night bonus for his first-round submission of Chris Duncan to open the main card, while lightweights Daniel Zellhuber and Francisco Prado earned Fight of the Night honors for their three-round war, which Zellhuber won by unanimous decision.
UFC Mexico City took place Feb. 24 at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City.
One-time UFC title challenger Brandon Royval defeated former two-time UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno via split decision in the night’s main event.
