Yair Rodriguez knows Brian Ortega will be a tough out at UFC Long Island on Saturday.

Rodriguez and Ortega are set to headline the card in a pivotal fight for the featherweight division as the winner could get a title shot. Although the Mexican is coming off a loss to Max Holloway last time out, he says that fight taught him a lot including having a good strategy.

With that, heading into this fight, Rodriguez says he will need to stick to his game plan if he is going to beat Ortega.

“More than anything, in the strategy, bring a better strategy every time I fight and stick to it. You can have a pretty good strategy, and like Mike Tyson said, you have a strategy until you get punched in the face. It doesn’t really matter,” Rodriguez said to the New York Post. “You have to be able to be like water, like Bruce Lee said. Sometimes, I try to take that concept instead. I try to do whatever I feel when I’m fighting, instead of having to do the strategy. But I think for my next fight, especially, it’s going to be important to have a really good strategy and stick to it.”

Although Yair Rodriguez says he will need to stick to the game plan he does expect this fight to be a fan-friendly one. He also knows how tough Ortega is given he is Mexican which only adds to his excitement for the fight.

“I have seen the comments of people. People, of course, are happy because the fight is going on,” Rodriguez said. “But everybody’s like, “No! Mexico against Mexico.” This or that. Fighting a Mexican for me is just as tough as fighting anyone, but I know what Mexicans are made of, and I’m sure Brian is gonna be a tough one.”

Do you think Yair Rodriguez will beat Brian Ortega at UFC Long Island?