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After their initial fight fell through, Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez appear to be on the cusp of being rebooked for a much-anticipated featherweight battle. The original fight was scheduled for July, but early reports reveal that they may now compete in November.
The news comes from MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter, who posted the following to his Twitter account:
"It's not a done deal yet, but per Dana White, the UFC is looking to re-book Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez as the main event for UFC Fight Night on November 13."
The impact of Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez on the featherweight division
The fight between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez may well produce the next 145lb title contender after Brian Ortega's upcoming fight with current champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Max Holloway has history with both Ortega and Volkanovski, which would no doubt benefit the UFC in terms of marketing a potential fight involving two of the three. Holloway faced off against Brian Ortega in 2018, where he defended his title in a fight of the year display from both men. A rematch would stand a good chance of becoming an instant classic that fans would flock to watch.
Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski have a more complicated history. Volkanovski became the first man to defeat Holloway at featherweight in over five years when he outpointed the former champ at UFC 245.
An immediate rematch was booked, and Holloway put in an impressive bounce-back performance that prompted many fans to mark him as the winner on their unofficial scorecards. However, the judges did not have it that way, and victory once again went to Volkanovski.
This leaves Holloway in a situation where he would compete against an opponent in a trilogy bout where he has already lost the first two fights. But few will deny him a title shot should he put on a similar performance to that of his last win, over Calvin Kattar, when he takes on Rodriguez.
Alternatively, Yair Rodriguez is somewhat lacking in his experience of facing top-five contenders. His only win over a top-five opponent was against Chan Sung Jung, whom he stopped with a dramatic standing upward elbow strike. However, he also holds wins over the top 10 ranked lightweight Dan Hooker, former UFC champion B.J. Penn and the ever-dangerous Jeremy Stephens.
Considering the individual styles of both Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez, this fight promises to be a thriller with the added intrigue of the winner becoming the next number one contender in the featherweight division.
