- Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez highlight the UFC Fight Night 197.
- The Blessed won his last bout and is after another title shot against Alexander Volkanovski.
- Rodriguez is one of the most attractive and exciting fighters in the UFC, but not too active over the past few years.
Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez meet this Saturday night to see who will become (or stay) the top challenger in the featherweight division. There are various plans for Holloway and his future, but on the other side, Rodriguez has only one option, which is to win and force the UFC to give him a shot at Volkanovski.
Holloway vs. Rodriguez Schedule
- Where: UFC Apex, Enterprise, Nevada
- When: November 13, Saturday, 10:30 PM ET
- How to Watch: ESPN
Holloway vs. Rodriguez Odds
| Holloway | Rodriguez |
| -700 | +450 |
Blessed After the Title Again
Max Holloway is back in the winning column after two straight losses to Alexander Volkanovski, which eventually cost him the title. Though, we need to say that the second match was highly controversial, and that split decision should have ended in Blessed’s favor.ย
We don’t need to say too much about his fighting style. He is arguably the best boxer in the entire UFC, and the way he handles the rivals is astonishing. Holloway’s combos are a beauty for watching, but not only that, he damages the opponents slowly and painfully, usually with lots of blood involved.
Max threw 445 significant strikes in the last bout against Calvin Kattar, the new UFC record, surpassing the one he had set before. He showed excellent cardio in that one, keeping the high pace throughout the entire bout and punishing Kattar constantly. He really showed those losses against Volkanovski didn’t leave any trace.ย
El Pantera Might Have Some Ring Rust
Yair Rodriguez is one of the most exciting guys in the UFC. In his last nine fights, Rodriguez won seven bonuses, whether that was for the Fight of the Night or the Performance of the night. Sometimes both. Now that tells a lot about this guy. The only thing is that he doesn’t enter the octagon too often.
His last bout was in October 2019, when he defeated Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision. It was a rematch of their clash three weeks earlier once Rodriguez accidentally poked his rival in the eye, forcing the judge in the ring and the doctors to declare it no contest.
As the fans call him, El Pantera is one very interesting fighter who possesses a vast arsenal of leg kicks that comes from his taekwondo background. That is why he is so attractive for watching. He holds wins over Stephens, Koren Zombie, BJ Penn, and Dan Hooker, but he didn’t fight for a long time.
Prediction
This should be easy work for Holloway, who is in excellent shape, while on the other side, we don’t know the current stat for Rodriguez. But even at his best, El Pantera would still be miles away from Holloway, who is , like it or not, the best featherweight in the division regardless of the fact that Volkanovski holds the belt.
Pick: Holloway via TKO +115
