Facing Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez has a chance to go from highlight to a higher place in UFC

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Yair Rodriguez is a walking highlight reel, most effective acknowledged for his breathtaking previous-second knockout of Chan Sung Jung in a 2018 bout that the Mexican was on the verge of losing by determination. The KO came at 4:59 of Spherical 5 by way of a no-glimpse, upward-trajectory elbow that collapsed “The Korean Zombie” in his tracks. It was a detail of natural beauty.

On Saturday, Rodriguez has an possibility to more enrich the perception of him inside the higher echelon of the UFC men’s featherweight division.

Facing Max Holloway in the primary occasion of a matinee UFC Battle Night time in Las Vegas, Rodriguez can promptly remodel himself from ought to-see attraction to championship contender. Holloway is a previous 145-pound winner and is No. 10 in the ESPN men’s pound-for-pound rankings. Defeating him would elevate Rodriguez into the title photo.

Former UFC featherweight winner Max Holloway appears to continue his combat back towards the leading of the division from the surging Yair Rodriguez.

UFC Fight Night time: Holloway vs. Rodriguez
Saturday, Nov. 13, UFC Apex, Las Vegas
• Main card: 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• Prelims: 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+

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Rodriguez (13-2, 1 NC) has lost only after in practically nine many years. That defeat arrived in 2017 against former light-weight champ Frankie Edgar, just a few months after Rodriguez had knocked out yet another famous ex-champ, BJ Penn. Rodriguez is unbeaten in 3 outings because the Edgar decline, but he has not competed given that October 2019 thanks to a US Anti-Doping Company suspension. He did not are unsuccessful a drug check, but failed to retain USADA apprised of his whereabouts for screening uses.

He can make all of that fade into the past if he can manage Holloway (22-6), who is coming off a virtuosic effectiveness in his previous visual appeal. In a unanimous conclusion around Calvin Kattar in January, Holloway shattered quite a few UFC records, landing 445 substantial strikes (outdated report: 290), making an attempt 744 (aged report: 515) and additional. Amid other items, that was the night when Holloway handed Georges St-Pierre for most strikes landed in UFC record by functioning his total to 2,805 (St-Pierre landed 2,591).

The stakes for Holloway are probably fewer definitive but no significantly less dramatic. As solid as he appeared in the Kattar battle, it ended a two-combat dropping streak — the 2019 bout in which he dropped the featherweight title to Alexander Volkanovski, then a rematch that quite a few observers believe Holloway gained. Obtaining back again to a title shot although Volkanovski nevertheless owns the belt may well be a challenge, but Holloway are unable to pay for to slip up this weekend if he hopes for significant matters in his near foreseeable future.

As for Rodriguez, if he can cling with Holloway, he will open some eyes and some doorways. He could possibly not essentially be following in line for Volkanovski, but he certainly would have a place around the entrance of the queue.

View UFC Battle Evening: Holloway vs. Rodriguez Saturday on ESPN+, beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

Numbers matchup: -625 vs. 757

-625: Betting odds favoring Holloway (as of Tuesday), the biggest odds of his UFC vocation, surpassing his -600 odds for a bout in opposition to Jeremy Stephens in 2015.

757: Times it will have been on battle evening considering the fact that Rodriguez previous competed, in a unanimous-decision get more than Stephens on Oct. 18, 2019.

Resources: ESPN Stats & Information and UFC Stats

And the winner is …

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“These are the two greatest men in division when it comes to footwork, with the doable exception of Edson Barboza,” explained Eddie Cha, the Battle Prepared striking mentor. “Yair has wonderful length, phenomenal footwork. Max does as very well. Can Yair get out of difficulties with his ft? Does he have the cardio to maintain going for five rounds? If Yair doesn’t have to sit on a takedown, he’s dangerous. The smaller dimension of the cage favors Holloway — you can find definitely nowhere for Yair to go. How does Yair cope with the stress?”

Check out how Cha and other gurus crack down the principal occasion and forecast a winner.

How to view the fights on ESPN+

Stream and look at all of the fights below.

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Saturday’s fight card

ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET
Men’s featherweight: Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez
Heavyweight: Ben Rothwell vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Women’s featherweight: Felicia Spencer vs. Leah Letson
Welterweight: Miguel Baeza vs. Khaos Williams
Men’s bantamweight: Music Yadong vs. Julio Arce
ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET
Lightweight: Thiago Moises vs. Joel Alvarez
Women’s flyweight: Cynthia Calvillo vs. Andrea Lee
Men’s featherweight: Sean Woodson vs. Collin Anglin
Women’s flyweight: Cortney Casey vs. Liana Jojua
Light-weight: Marc Diakiese vs. Rafael Alves
Light-weight heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Da-Un Jung

Ian Parker’s best bet

1 Similar

Coming off 1 of the most dominant hanging performances in the history of the UFC, in a gain around Calvin Kattar in January, Holloway is on the lookout to choose 1 far more move in his quest to receiving back again to yet another title shot. I expect this combat towards Rodriguez to be incredibly identical to the Kattar combat. Search for Holloway to turn this into a boxing match, use his speed, precision and quantity to overwhelm Rodriguez all over the 5 rounds. Rodriguez is a incredibly talented striker with a karate type, and he could lands some kind of spinning elbow or wild kick. But I do not see that occurring from Holloway. I don’t see either person acquiring the end, as neither possesses accurate KO power. And Holloway’s previous 5 appearances, dating back to 2018, all have gone the distance. For those explanations, I am heading with the “around” listed here.

Decide: Holloway or Rodriguez in excess of 3.5 rounds at -162.

For a lot more ideas from Parker on this struggle card’s best bets, go below.

A few more points to know (from ESPN Stats & Details)

1. Rothwell, who faces Rogerio de Lima in the co-primary celebration, will be competing in his 17th UFC fight. If Rothwell wins, it will be his 10th UFC earn and the 40th victory of his specialist MMA career. “Massive Ben” would turn out to be the sixth heavyweight to gain 10 UFC fights.

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2. Spencer will be searching to get back into the acquire column when she faces Letson, who will make her initially UFC visual appeal given that the TUF 28 finale in November 2018. If Spencer wins, she would tie Megan Anderson for the most UFC victories in women’s featherweight record with 3.

3. Alvarez, who clashes with lightweight Moises in the featured prelim, will be seeking for his fourth straight acquire and fourth consecutive complete. He would be part of five many others with a UFC complete streak of at minimum four fights. Alvarez has concluded all 18 of his wins, with 16 coming by submission.