Steve Garcia Announces UFC 335 Fight With Yair Rodriguez

Steve Garcia says his next assignment is Yair Rodriguez, and it is the kind of fight that does not need much selling.

Garcia announced on Instagram that he will face the former interim featherweight champion at UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie reported the booking on Tuesday after it was first reported by Dvoyechka MMA.

There is one important bit of caution here: the UFC has not announced the matchup or added it to the event page. Until the promotion does, this is a fighter-confirmed booking rather than a final card listing.

Rodriguez finally has a return date

Rodriguez has not fought since April 2025, when he beat Patricio Pitbull by unanimous decision at UFC 314. He was later booked to meet Jean Silva in a September main event but withdrew after suffering an injury.

By fight night, Rodriguez will have been out for about 20 months. That is a long wait for a 34-year-old former interim champion who has already lost time to injuries and canceled fights. His UFC profile lists him at 21-5, with eight knockouts and five submissions.

The attraction is obvious. Rodriguez is one of the division's most inventive kickers, while Garcia has built his run on pressure and knockout power. Giving Rodriguez a patient tune-up would have been understandable after the layoff. Garcia is not that.

Garcia gets another major test

Garcia is coming off a second-round knockout loss to Diego Lopes at UFC Freedom 250 in June. The result ended a seven-fight winning streak, but it did not erase the work that put him in this position.

The UFC lists Garcia at 19-6 with 15 knockout wins and eight first-round finishes. Before the Lopes loss, he had beaten David Onama, Calvin Kattar and Chase Hooper during the best stretch of his career. His route back into the featherweight picture now runs through a former titleholder.

For Rodriguez, the danger is returning from a long absence against someone who rarely gives opponents a quiet minute. For Garcia, the challenge is dealing with Rodriguez's range and variety without getting reckless while closing distance. Neither man is being eased back into contention.

What is official at UFC 335

The UFC's event page confirms UFC 335 for December 12 at T-Mobile Arena. Charles Oliveira faces Diego Lopes in the main event, and Alex Pereira meets Sergei Pavlovich at heavyweight.

Rodriguez against Garcia is not on that page yet. Garcia's announcement and multiple reports make the booking credible, but bout agreements and cards can change. The clean way to describe it for now is simple: Garcia says the fight is set, and the UFC still needs to make it official.