"The level of competition that Max Holloway brings is amazing. "That fight especially pushed me forward," Rodriguez said. Yair Rodriguez (R) said his 2021 fight with Max Holloway (L) helped him to learn what it took to win at the highest level of MMA. Rodriguez said the Holloway fight showed him he was on the right track. That was high praise coming from a fighter of Holloway's stature, who's still regarded by many as the greatest featherweight in MMA history. "Yair, you frickin' animal," Holloway exclaimed, beaming.Īs he walked away to make his own trip to be checked out, Holloway said to no one in particular, "The guy is phenomenal." Holloway walked out of Apex and immediately headed to the ambulance, where the back doors were open. 13, 2021, Rodriguez was sitting in the back of an ambulance waiting to be checked out at a local hospital. Not long after he lost to Holloway in a Fight of the Night battle in Las Vegas on Nov. It was a loss, though, that convinced him he was firmly on the right track. Rodriguez believed in his talents early on and felt that given a shot, he'd be able to prove to the world what he's always felt. I'm going to capitalize on those things he does." "I've been watching his fights, and I've been finding a couple of things he always does. "I think he has holes in his game," Rodriguez said. Many in his situation lather the champion with praise, and while Rodriguez clearly respects Volkanovski - "How can you not given what he has accomplished already?" Rodriguez asked rhetorically - he isn't about to sugarcoat things, either. It's been a long journey with plenty of potholes along the way, but Rodriguez has come so far that as he awaits to fight a long-reigning champion who some regard as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, he's oozing confidence.Īsked about challenges that Volkanovski presents, Rodriguez doesn't mince words. He holds the interim featherweight title after an impressive submission of Josh Emmett in Australia in February, and on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas he will face champion Volkanovski in a unification bout in the main event of UFC 290. Nearly 10 years after he joined the UFC, Yair Rodriguez has an opportunity to add his name to that list of legends. There are no mediocre champions among that group, and given how stacked with talent the division remains, there's little chance of that occurring any time soon. Jose Aldo is already in the UFC Hall of Fame and Conor McGregor, Max Holloway and Alex Volkanovski will undoubtedly join him when their careers are over. With Holloway coming off of the best performance of his career, it will have to be a career-defining night for Rodriguez if he plans to get past Holloway, and make it out of the fight in one piece.The featherweight champions in the UFC since it added the division in 2010 are probably the best of any class in the UFC. Holloway comes in as the massive -625 betting favorite at sportsbooks such as WynnBet, which may be a bit overpriced considering who his opponent is in this match-up.
Rodriguez has been known to deliver end-to-end excitement and action-packed fights in his career, going the distance in 5 of his 9 UFC appearances. The Mexican fighting out of Huntington Beach, Florida has five decision wins to his credit and three stoppages in that stretch. Rodriguez, on the other hand, is 8-1 with 1 no-contest since making his UFC debut back in 2014. Prior to that, in a failed attempt at becoming a two-division champion, Holloway dropped a UFC interim lightweight title fight to Dustin Poirier by way of unanimous decision back at UFC 236 in April 2019.
Holloway’s only recent losses are to champions, as he dropped back-to-back controversial decisions to Alexander Volkanovski in 20. Holloway is 15-3 in his last eighteen UFC appearances dating back to 2014, with ten of his last fifteen wins coming by way of stoppage. Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez Preview and Prediction Holloway is coming off the biggest performance of his career, after putting a hellacious five-round beating on Calvin Kattar back at UFC on ABC in January.Īs for Rodriguez, the Mexican stand-out hasn’t graced the Octagon since before the pandemic, with his last UFC appearance coming against Jeremy Stephens back in October 2019. The event is headlined by a top-ranked men’s featherweight tilt between former UFC men’s featherweight champion Max Holloway and Mexican contender Yair Rodriguez.
UFC Vegas 42 goes down this Saturday from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
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