With a little over a month remaining, UFC 335 just got a solid addition to its card. The spectacle is scheduled for December 12 at T-Mobile Arena, with a thrilling headliner of Charles Oliveira defending his BMF belt against Diego Lopes. In the co-main event, Alex Pereira will face Sergei Pavlovich to find out whether he can dwell among the heavyweights. Joining the already stacked lineup, the matchmakers booked former UFC interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez against knockout artist Steve Garcia.

“We’re locking in for another one before the end of the year. El Pantera vs. Mean Machine⚔️ this is must-see TV 📺,” Garcia confirmed the fight on Instagram by uploading the poster for their UFC 335 bout.

The stakes around the Yair Rodriguez vs. Steve Garcia fight could be sky-high, considering it is a comeback fight for both featherweights, though in totally different ways.

The Mexican fighter suffered a hand injury after beating Patricio Pitbull at UFC 314 and required surgery that sidelined him for a considerable time. After he spent over a year out of competition, the UFC booked Rodriguez’s comeback against Jean Silva at UFC Noche 2026 in September. Finally, it seemed ‘El Pantera’ had finally healed and was ready to return to the Octagon. But weeks before the event, Rodriguez abruptly pulled out of the Noche card.

The UFC scrambled to find Jose Delgado as a short-notice replacement. Rodriguez subsequently cited an injury for his withdrawal from the event, though he didn’t share any details. 

For Rodriguez, the lack of a clear path was particularly troubling because he once came so close to becoming champion. 

In 2023, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski moved up to lightweight and challenged Islam Makhachev for the double champ glory at UFC 284. On the same night, Yair Rodriguez clashed with Josh Emmett for the interim featherweight belt in the co-main event.

At UFC 284, Rodriguez ended up beating Emmet via second-round triangle choke submission to become the interim featherweight champion.

After losing to Makhachev, ‘The Great’ dropped to 145 and faced the interim champion Rodriguez. Both squared off in the UFC 290 main event, but the Mexican fell short of becoming the undisputed champion. Volkanovski secured a dominant finish in the third round with a takedown and follow-up ground shots.

Following that loss, Rodriguez never got another opportunity to fight for a belt. In fact, he never recaptured that impressive run. After losing to Volkanovski, the Chihuahua native dropped a crucial bout against Brian Ortega, suffering two losses in a row. 

On the other hand, Garcia is also looking to get back in the win column. The New Mexico-based fighter had a dream run in the featherweight division, riding a 7-fight winning streak before Diego Lopes snapped it at UFC White House on June 14th. Lopes brutally knocked him out in the second round to claim the victory.

Despite that setback, Steve Garcia remains one of the most devastating strikers in the 145 lbs division. Fifteen of his 19 wins came via knockout, which makes him a true knockout artist in the featherweight division.

As of now, the UFC has not confirmed the bout order for this fight, but it seems it will find a place on the main card since an existing bout has been moved.

Yair Rodriguez vs. Steve Garcia can find its place on the UFC 335 main card  

Before the UFC made the stellar featherweight bout for UFC 335, another fight was featured on the card but later replaced. Bo Nickal vs. Joe Pyfer’s middleweight grudge match was firmly slated for the Vegas showdown.

However, Nickal disclosed at a political rally in Ohio that the UFC had moved his UFC 335 fight to Ohio next year.

“I got a call backstage, and I do have some news, which is pretty exciting,” Nickal said. “My boy right here mentioned my fight in December. It actually got moved to February, where I’m going to be main-eventing in Cleveland. So, I’m sure I’m going to see a bunch of you guys there supporting. I appreciate you guys. We are gonna go smash this guy and then go take the belt.”

With Nickal vs. Pyfer shifting to a new venue and date in 2027, a slot was left vacant on UFC 335. Though the card had other strong matchups, the promotion hadn’t promoted another fight to fill the empty spot so far. In that case, Rodriguez vs. Garcia would be a perfect fit.

For starters, both featherweights are primarily strikers and would put on a display of not just violence but technical brilliance. Plus, the bout remains high stakes for the future of the featherweight division. 

Rodriguez is currently out of the rankings because of inactivity, and he will face number 14-ranked Garcia. If the Mexican wins, he would finally re-enter the rankings, or he would remain outside. And climbing back from that position will be a very hard task. 

On the other side, if Garcia secures a win over Rodriguez, it would mark an impressive comeback for him. Also, the 34-year-old would earn enticing matchups in the future. A loss, however, could very well push him out of the top 15, with Rodriguez taking his place.

With such high stakes, UFC 335 is shaping up to be a loaded card that could hand the UFC a spectacular ending to 2026 in terms of pure entertainment.