Steve Garcia confirms Yair Rodriguez fight, reportedly set for UFC 335

Steve Garcia has confirmed a fight with former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez on Instagram, MMA Mania reported on Thursday. According to MMA Mania, the bout is set for UFC 335 on Saturday, Dec. 12, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC hasn't announced it, and as of Thursday it isn't on the promotion's UFC 335 event page.

Word of the matchup came out earlier in the week. AgentMMA wrote on Wednesday that the fight was reportedly in the works, with no date or venue set. Featherweight David Onama also shared what looked like the full UFC 335 card, Rodriguez vs. Garcia included. The Instagram post has since been taken down, MMA Sucka reported on Thursday. Garcia stopped Onama in the first round a year ago.

Twenty months out

The fight would be Rodriguez's first since he beat Patricio Pitbull by unanimous decision at UFC 314 on April 12, 2025. That's a gap of about 20 months. He was booked to headline Noche UFC against Jean Silva on Sept. 12 in Glendale, Arizona. He pulled out in August with an unspecified injury.

Jose Delgado replaced him, sources told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz, according to theScore. Rodriguez explained the withdrawal on Instagram. In the statement, as quoted by MMA Sucka, he said:

"I got injured. I tried to continue with my training, but in the end it wasn't responsible to compete in these conditions."

Rodriguez, 34, won the interim belt by submitting Josh Emmett at UFC 284 in February 2023. Alexander Volkanovski took it from him by third-round TKO at UFC 290 that July, and Brian Ortega submitted him in February 2024. He's 11-4 in the UFC, per our fighter page, plus a 2019 no contest with Jeremy Stephens listed on Wikipedia.

Rodriguez has had long layoffs before. He beat Pitbull after 14 months out. After about two years away, he lost a five-round decision to Max Holloway in November 2021.

Garcia's run

Garcia, also 34, is 19-6 overall and 8-3 in the UFC. From October 2022 to November 2025 he won seven straight, six by stoppage, and earned four Performance of the Night bonuses. Diego Lopes ended the streak in June, knocking him out in the second round at UFC Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C.

Lopes is on this card too. He headlines UFC 335 against Charles Oliveira for the BMF title. Alex Pereira vs. Sergei Pavlovich is the co-main event, according to the official poster released Nov. 2.

Volkanovski holds the featherweight title. In the UFC's media-panel rankings, Rodriguez is No. 6 and Garcia No. 10. MMA Mania called Garcia No. 14. That's his spot on the newer Meta UFC Rankings, which are built from fight data and don't have Rodriguez in the top 15.

The betting side

Backing Garcia has paid well. Per his page, $1 on Garcia at the closing line in each of his 10 fights since 2021 made $6.93 profit. He won eight of those 10 when the prices implied about five wins.

He's 3-1 as an underdog, beating Chase Hooper (+260), Melquizael Costa (+210) and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (+150). His one loss in that spot was to Lopes at +130. Rodriguez has roughly matched the market since 2021, winning three of six. He closed a −161 favourite (59%) against Pitbull.

We don't have odds for this fight yet. We think it's a hard return for Rodriguez. Garcia has stopped six of his last eight opponents and lands nearly five significant strikes a minute. Rodriguez has fought once since the Ortega loss in February 2024.

What's next

Where the bout sits on the card isn't known. The card may already be losing a fight. Bo Nickal has said his fight with Joe Pyfer is moving to a February event in Cleveland, per Yardbarker. The UFC's site still lists it for Dec. 12.