Yair Rodriguez set to end long layoff against Steve Garcia at UFC 335 in December

Former interim UFC featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez is nearing a return to competition, with reports indicating he will face Steve Garcia in a three-round featherweight bout at UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Dvoyechka MMA first reported the pairing, though the UFC has yet to officially confirm the matchup.

Rodriguez (20-5) has been out of action since April 2025, when he defeated former Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire by unanimous decision at UFC 314. That win ended a two-fight losing streak that had included defeats to Brian Ortega and Alexander Volkanovski, and it will have been roughly eight months between appearances by the time he steps back into the octagon in December.

Garcia (19-6) enters the fight looking to bounce back after a difficult outing at UFC Freedom 250 in June, where Diego Lopes stopped him in the second round with ground-and-pound. The loss snapped a seven-fight winning streak for Garcia that had featured six stoppages and notable victories over David Onama and Calvin Kattar.

UFC 335 is shaping up to be a stacked card. The event is headlined by Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes, with a heavyweight clash between Sergei Pavlovich and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira also confirmed. The Brandon Moreno vs. Charles Johnson flyweight bout and a women’s strawweight contest between Angela Hill and Shanelle Dyer are among the other bouts currently listed for the card.

For Rodriguez, the Garcia fight represents an opportunity to build momentum in a featherweight division that remains one of the UFC’s most competitive. A second consecutive win would push him back toward title contention after the setbacks against Ortega and Volkanovski.