Weekend Fights Preview

UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs Rodriguez

UFC travels to Long Island, New York for a free fight night card - AND it's during the day! Not only is this a rare day card but also a rare card that will be airing on ABC - just the third time ever. The card isn't exactly the greatest but there are definitely some fights worth watching. On a scale of CM Punk to Khabib, it's a Nate Diaz level card.

Below is a list of what to look out for on Saturday:

• Oretega vs Rodriguez is a really close fight in which the winner could be the next challenger for Alex Volkonovski but it is not guaranteed especially considering Ortega just lost to Volk. Classic top level striker in Rodriguez vs top level grappler in Ortega, should be a good one.

• Shane Burgos vs Charles Jourdain is guaranteed to win a performance bonus. If you can only catch one fight, this is the fight to catch. Going to be fireworks.

• Miesha Tate makes her flyweight debut in a fight the UFC hopes she wins so they can book a new face vs the camp Valentina Schevchenko

• Bill Algeo is from King of Prussia shout out Bucks County

Day card, don't forget. Enjoy it.

Fight Schedule

UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs Rodriguez on Saturday 7/16/2022

Prelims - 11:00 EST - ESPN / ESPN +

Main Card - 2:00 EST - ABC / ESPN +

Boxing: Ryan Garcia vs Javier Fortuna on Saturday 7/16/2022

Main Card - 8:00 EST - DAZN PPV

Garcia vs Fortuna - 11:30 EST - DAZN PPV

Lock of the Week

Parlay (+167): Shane Burgos (-165) WITH Schnell vs Sumudaerji under 2.5 rounds (-150)

We're going with a 2 leg parlay for great odds this weekend. Going to get your moneys worth.

Some stats behind the reasoning for these picks:

• Burgos is from New York, and I'm a huge fan of his so this may be a bit of a heart pick here. But I also think he has faced much tougher competition than Jourdain and he'll have a massive 6.5 inch reach advantage.

• Schnell has only gone the distance 2 out of his last 6 fights and has a tendency to get KO'd...

• ...How does Sumudaerji have a tendency of winning by? KO. 14 of his last 16 fights have ended by finish.

Storyline to Watch

Dana White

Dana White has been surprisingly absent from UFC events recently, including big ones like international fight week PPV card. Dana white is a staple at these cards, fighters dream of Dana wrapping the belt around them after they win the championship. Say what you will about Dana, but he truly is the face of the UFC. 

He is still staying busy and making headlines though. There is a video going around of him handing one of the Nelk boys $250,000 in cash for his birthday. This is being met with back lash as being completely tone deaf as there are many grumbling about fighter pay. This is more than the vast majority of fighters make for a fight.

Now why is that? What could this all mean? Pay close attention to what is going on over in the UFC.

Clip of the Week

Here is the video of Dana giving out a $250,000 cash bday present... In a zip lock bag of all things.