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Max Holloway met with Yair Rodriguez to express his respect towards ‘El Pantera’ after their five-round war. Holloway and Rodriguez were both taken to the hospital after their fight but posed for photographs before their respective departures from the arena.
The Hawaiian MMA stalwart walked up to Yair Rodriguez, who was on a stretcher inside an ambulance. Alluding to the incredible toughness Rodriguez displayed in their fight, Max Holloway stated:
“YAIR! You frickin' animal.”
You can watch the interaction between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez in the video below:
Similarly, Yair Rodriguez was all smiles and showed his respect for Max Holloway and the toughness that ‘Blessed’ displayed inside the octagon. Rodriguez and Holloway then briefly posed for photographs, before parting ways.
Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez put on an incredible display of striking and fighting spirit during their main event matchup at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rodriguez initially appeared to be giving Holloway trouble with his unorthodox striking techniques.
Nevertheless, Max Holloway kept his composure and utilized a combination of his striking and grappling skills to gradually outwork Yair Rodriguez. Holloway’s well-rounded skill-set proved to be the difference-maker, and the judges awarded ‘Blessed’ the victory via unanimous decision.
Max Holloway aims to reclaim UFC gold, while a potential Conor McGregor fight looms on the horizon
Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has a pair of losses to the reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Both fights happen to be razor-thin decision losses, and are subject to much debate. Considering that, many in the MMA community have been clamoring for a trilogy fight between Holloway and Volkanovski.
Moreover, Max Holloway’s thrilling victory over Yair Rodriguez is expected to significantly boost his momentum ahead of the third fight against Volkanovski. The consensus is that Holloway is likely to fight ‘The Great’ for the UFC featherweight belt in 2022.
Meanwhile, the war of words between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor appears to have reached a crescendo. ‘Blessed’ took yet another jibe at the Irishman after his fight with Rodriguez.
With Conor McGregor set to return from his injury hiatus in 2022, Max Holloway could possibly face ‘The Notorious’ in a rematch sooner rather than later. During his post-fight octagon interview earlier tonight, Holloway reiterated that he is indeed on the shortlist of opponents who are likely to face Conor McGregor next.
However, Conor McGregor hasn’t fought at featherweight since 2015. If a Holloway-McGregor matchup does materialize in the future, it’d likely be contested at lightweight rather than featherweight.
