Violence! Yair Rodriguez returns against knockout artist Steve Garcia at UFC 335

UFC 314: Volkanovski v Lopes - Press Conference — MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 10: Yair Rodriguez of Mexico sits on stage during the UFC 314 press conference at Kaseya Center on April 10, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)

Featherweight fireworks are headed to “Sin City.”

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim Featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez will finally return to action against all-action, No. 14-ranked contender Steve Garcia at UFC 335 next month (Sat., Dec. 12, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Garcia confirmed the matchup on Instagram.

MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 11: Yair Rodriguez of Mexico poses on the scale during the UFC official weigh-in at Hyatt Regency on April 11, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Rodriguez (21-5, 1 NC) was scheduled to return against Jean Silva in the Noche UFC main event in September. However, “El Pantera” withdrew several weeks before the card after suffering an injury.

The Mexican star has not competed since spoiling Patricio Pitbull’s highly anticipated UFC debut via unanimous decision at UFC 314 in April 2025. That victory snapped Rodriguez’s two-fight losing streak, which included stoppage losses to Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega.

By the time UFC 335 arrives, Rodriguez will have spent approximately 20 months out of competition. Injuries and lengthy layoffs have repeatedly interrupted his momentum, limiting the 33-year-old to just eight appearances since the beginning of 2019.

Steve Garcia, mixed martial artist, during the official weigh-ins for the UFC Freedom250 fight in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, June 13, 2026. President Donald Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event will go on as planned on the White House grounds after a federal judge rejected an eleventh-hour bid to stop it. Photographer: Andrew Leyden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bloomberg via Getty Images

Garcia (19-6) will attempt to rebound from a disappointing setback.

“Mean Machine” had his impressive seven-fight winning streak snapped in June when Diego Lopes knocked him out in the second round at UFC Freedom 250 (watch highlights).

Garcia’s seven-fight run included victories over David Onama (watch highlights), Calvin Kattar and Chase Hooper. Six of those wins came by stoppage, while Garcia collected four “Performance of the Night” bonuses along the way.

Now, Garcia receives arguably the biggest name of his career. A victory over a former interim champion would immediately restore his momentum and potentially launch him into the division’s Top 10.

On paper, this one should be chaos for as long as it lasts.

Here is what UFC 335 looks like right now:

Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alex Pereira
Brandon Moreno vs. Charles Johnson
Yair Rodriguez vs. Steve Garcia
Chase Hooper vs. Chris Padilla
Carli Judice vs. TBD
Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Damian Pinas
Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Ronald Humphrey
Quentin Pasley vs. Junior Tafa
Angela Hill vs. Shanelle Dyer
Nilson Rojas vs. Roque Conceicao
Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Michelle Montague

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