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On November 13, Max Holloway will return to the octagon to face Yair Rodriguez. While Alexander Volkanovski currently holds the featherweight gold, Holloway intends to stay active and take fights until he finds himself once again challenging for the title.
Prior to his upcoming matchup with 'El Pantera', Max Holloway was tasked with facing Alexander Volkanovski in back-to-back title bouts. While he came up short in both razor-close contests, he put in a commanding rebound performance against Calvin Kattar earlier this year. The bout saw 'Blessed' break a significant strikes record that he previously held. Holloway landed 445 significant strikes against his fellow top-five contender.
Meanwhile, Yair Rodriguez will be returning after a long layoff himself when he faces Max Holloway. The clash against 'Blessed' will be the Mexican's first UFC fight since his 2019 rematch against Jeremy Stephens. While Rodriguez has been inactive as of late, his ability inside the octagon is clear. Even so, he's tasked with a hungry and motivated former champion looking to carve out a path back to 145-pound gold.
Rodriguez has a flashy style, though his ability to tone down the extras and focus on fundamentals has come a long way. It will certainly be interesting to see which kicks he chooses to utilize against a crafty boxer like Max Holloway. With the two warriors known for their insanely entertaining styles, this main event fight has the makings of a Fight of the Year candidate.
With that in mind, let's examine five reasons why Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez will end up being 2021's Fight of the Year (FOTY).
#5. The styles of Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez should make for a great fight
Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez both have exciting styles. With such dynamic kicking repertoires, shot selection will be an important aspect of this featherweight contest.
Since fighters are often told to 'crowd the kicker' at face value, it would seem Max Holloway would have a stylistic advantage going into this strategic matchup.
After witnessing Yair Rodriguez's performance against Chan Sung Jung, many were surprised to see the 29-year-old make such leaps in his standup skills while being away from the cage for over a year. With the unpredictability of Yair Rodriguez's style, he is never in a boring fight.
Max Holloway, meanwhile, proclaimed himself to be the best boxer in the UFC while looking away from Kattar and still landing a couple of jabs. While his statement may ring true to some, he will need to implement a complete mixed martial arts game to dispatch a dangerous striker like Rodriguez.
Max Holloway will need to implement the same type of aggression he showed in the second fight with Volkanovski. With such a competitive featherweight landscape, a statement performance speaks loudly amongst a division full of killers.
#4. The durability of Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez will lead to a potential FOTY
Max Holloway and Rodriguez both have insane durability. In 28 professional fights, Max Holloway has never been finished by strikes. In fact, the Hawaiian has only been defeated once by submission, and it came at the hands of Dustin Poirier in his UFC debut back in 2012.
Max Holloway has also shown that he has an extraordinary chin. That notion was certainly put to the test when he moved up in weight to face his former opponent Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title. While he was unsuccessful in his quest for a second title, the former featherweight champion showed a granite chin during the contest.
Yair Rodriguez is also extremely durable. He has lost only once in the UFC - to Frankie Edgar. Despite the defeat, Rodriguez showed incredible toughness.
Before his fight with Edgar, Yair Rodriguez had amassed a substantial six-fight winning streak in the UFC. The featherweight managed to outpoint Dan Hooker and finish the legendary BJ Penn with a headkick.
In his fight against former lightweight champion Edgar, Rodriguez found himself in trouble as the reactive takedowns of Edgar kept him on his back for far too long. The fight would last two rounds before a doctor waived the contest off after the ground and pound damage to Rodriguez's eye rendered him unable to see out of it. When it comes to durability, these two have it.
#3. Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez have something to prove
Each combatant fighting on November 13 has a lot to prove. Max Holloway will need a spectacular performance to reinstate himself as the clear number one contender at featherweight. With rising contenders like Giga Chikadze, Arnold Allen and former nemesis Brian Ortega, the featherweight division has never been more ripe with talent.
For Max Holloway, it's a matter of proving that he's still the number one contender and the uncrowned champion. At 145-pounds, Max Holloway joined rarefied air after earning two TKO victories against the former featherweight king Jose Aldo.
For Yair Rodriguez, the 145-pound fighter is under pressure to remind the division why he sits at the No. 3 in the division. Having not competed since facing Jeremy Stephens in 2019, many new contenders have emerged. With a pattern of inactivity present throughout his résumé, 'El Pantera' will need to shake the ring rust off when it comes time to face the former titleholder.
Rodriguez finished Chan Sung Jung with a buzzer-beater knockout in the fifth round back in 2018. Interestingly, he had lost a few rounds throughout the contest, so he likely would have lost on the judge's scorecards had the bout continued. In a wild striking sequence in the final round, he scored the knockout with a modified spinning elbow.
The last time Rodriguez had his back against the wall with something to prove, he showed up and earned arguably the best win of his UFC career against 'The Korean Zombie'.
#2. Number one contender bout has added pressure
Max Holloway is no stranger to the pressure of vying for a championship. As the only American to secure the UFC featherweight belt, surely the former champion is eager to get back to his coveted throne. Since Rodriguez has been away from competition, many questions surround his approach to a fight this important.
Some have called for Max Holloway to receive another shot at the championship. Even before he demolished Kattar, it seemed the public was ready for Holloway to fight for gold again. However, part of what makes 'Blessed' such a viable contender is his willingness to step into the octagon and reacquaint himself with his craft.
Max Holloway is seemingly on the cusp of title contention. After setting records in his last fight, 'Blessed' appears to be headed towards new levels of greatness.
Meanwhile, with Yair Rodriguez ranked at No. 3, the featherweight is in short order for gold if he walks away victorious when the two cross paths. Holding a nearly fifty percent finishing rate as a professional, Rodriguez can end a fight in a flash. The featherweight has shown as much against the likes of Andre Fili and BJ Penn, but questions over how he handles the big moment remain.
#1. Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez are offensive dyanamos
The pair of featherweights love to dish it out. According to UFC stats, Max Holloway's strikes landed per minute (SLPM) is 7.26. Comparatively, Rodriguez shares an SLPM of 4.33. Since the numbers indicate the two fighters will stay very busy each round, that is evidence in and of itself that the fight will be pure chaos.
Rodriguez is a little more elusive than Max Holloway. With less of an inclination to absorb strikes, 'El Pantera' finds a way to not get hit but still fire off on offense. The range of kicks Rodriguez offers will be by far his most effective weapon against Holloway.
In particular, in his fight against Chan Sung Jung, Rodriguez showed off some impressive leg kicks while moving backward. The Mexico native has a comprehensive toolbox. The 29-year-old utilized a spinning elbow technique that landed clean on 'The Korean Zombie' in the final second of the fifth round.
Judging by their respective stats, neither fighter tends to go for takedowns either. With two athletes that offer a fluid style of striking, the bout will undoubtedly be a contender when it comes time to pick the Fight of the Year for 2021.
