Yair Rodríguez

Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez

Round 1
The battle everyone has been waiting for is now here, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 197. Featherweight contenders will toe the line in the marquee attraction, as former champion Holloway (22-6, 18-6 UFC) comes to blows with TUF Latin America 1 victor “El Pantera” Rodriguez (13-2, 1 NC; 8-1, 1 NC UFC). Bracing himself is referee Marc Goddard, who might have a lot of work to do between this all-action 145-pound tilt. They show ample respect when they touch gloves, but the subsequent strikes that will follow will be not nearly as sporting. Holloway walks Rodriguez down and throws a kick to the knee, and Rodriguez counters with one right back. They come together and land right hands, and Rodriguez quickly kicks Holloway in the face. A left hand from Holloway pushes Rodriguez down to the ground, and Rodriguez hits the ground and fires off an upkick. Holloway nods at him and lets Rodriguez back up so they can throw hands. Rodriguez continues to land kicks from afar, and he sits down on a pair of hooks. Holloway stings his man with a right hand, and he hops out of the way when Rodriguez kicks the leg. Holloway attacks the body, and Rodriguez swings wildly but comes up short. A left to the body, and then a left to the head, lands for Holloway, and Rodriguez stands right in front of him and throws right back at him. They are throwing with bad intentions, and landing cleanly while Holloway has his hands down by his waist. Rodriguez throws up high and kicks to the body, and one low makes Holloway turn around. Rodriguez scores, Holloway follows, and Rodriguez answers with a three-punch combo. Holloway kicks the leg, and then stomps down on the knee. Rodriguez shows no concern and pounds the body with a kick, and he falls over but springs back up when Holloway lets him back up. Rodriguez targets the leg with impunity, chopping at the former champ’s calf repeatedly. Rodriguez scores a one-two and a calf kick, and he winds up and cracks Holloway. Holloway nods and slings right back, and now it is Rodriguez who is hurt as he appreciates the blow. The right hand from Holloway opened a cut under Rodriguez’ eye, and he attacks the same spot a few more times. Rodriguez is not concerned one iota, and he swings back and spins with a kick. Holloway tries to counter with his own kick, and Holloway misses and is grabbed from behind. Rodriguez takes standing back control but cannot force Holloway any further down than his knees, and Holloway walks his way back up. Holloway is able to break the grip to turn around, and Rodriguez grabs a single and tries to lift Holloway off his feet. Holloway makes Rodriguez pay with a few punches, and Rodriguez replies with a kick that makes him fall to his back. In the ensuing melee, a kick from Holloway might have landed on the cup, and he dodges the upkicks to drop down in the Mexican’s guard and elbow him in the side. The close round ends in this position.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez

Round 2
Rodriguez begins the second frame with a few leg kicks, and one opens up Holloway to get kicked in the face. The Hawaiian practically ignores it and walks his way forward to land punches. Rodriguez preemptively counters him with a few right hands, and he sticks out a couple of jabs while Holloway targets the body. Rodriguez sits down on a right hook, and it does not even register on Holloway. Holloway knocks his man back to the wall with punches, and he gives chase when Rodriguez retreats but does not fall into a trap. Rodriguez gives a tell that he might be trying to set up his no-look elbow that he smashed “The Korean Zombie” with, and Holloway sees it and instead kicks from afar with the ball of his foot. Rodriguez scores a couple low kicks, and Holloway throws up top and may have surprised Rodriguez. Rodriguez slams his shin into the body and forearms of his opponent a few times, and Holloway’s body is welted up but he is no worse for wear. Holloway takes a few calf kicks on the way in, and targets both legs with these strikes as Holloway tries to find his way forward. Rodriguez continues to blast the calf, and Holloway does not even register as he marches forward like a Hawaiian Terminator to slug it out with Rodriguez. Holloway’s leg may be swelling, and he changes stances when they both start trading punches. “El Pantera” does not stop kicking Holloway’s lead leg, and they are doing damage and adding up fast. Rodriguez gets backed up to the wall and drills Holloway with an elbow, but the former champ keeps the pressure on him and lands a few punches. They trade punches up top, and Rodriguez circles out and just avoids a head kick. Rodriguez pounds his shin into Holloway’s calf, and he dances out of the way when Holloway tries to land on him. Holloway gets off a punch to the body, and a jump knee that follows and lands to the solar plexus may have hurt the Mexican contender. Rodriguez swings and misses with an up-elbow, and Holloway kicks his leg out beneath him. When Holloway dives down into the guard, Rodriguez throws his legs up for an armbar, and the round ends.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Holloway
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Holloway
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Holloway

Round 3
The featherweights meet in the middle and start trading, and Holloway walks his man down and kicks him in the side. “Blessed” ducks a punch, slips another, and lands a right hand over the top. Holloway gets off a right hand, fakes a takedown entry and jumps in the air to blast Rodriguez in the face with a knee. Holloway then knees the body with Rodriguez pressed against the fence, but “El Pantera” does not stay there for long and fights his way out to kick Holloway’s leg. Holloway tries another takedown to draw a reaction out of his opponent, and in the confusion, he scores a big punch and knocks Rodriguez’ legs out from under him. Rodriguez tries to get off upkicks, and Holloway shucks them off and climbs on top to take top position. Very smoothly, Holloway slides an arm-triangle choke around the head of his foe, and then he abandons it to claim full mount. Holloway pursues a rear-naked choke setup when Rodriguez gives up his back, but then lets him turn back to mount so that Holloway can smash him in the fact with fists and elbows. Rodriguez continues to turn and squirm, and Holloway slides out the back door to where both are on their knees in front of one another. Holloway considers a guillotine choke, but lets it go so they can stand back up and bang. They do exactly that, slugging it out with one another until suddenly, Rodriguez takes the former champ down. Holloway defends with a guillotine off his back, but pushes his man off of him to stand back up. Holloway marks Rodriguez up with long, reaching punches, and Rodriguez tries to fire back but is out of range. “Blessed” grabs a kick that flies at him, and as soon as it is in the air, Holloway enters into a takedown and hits it. Pushing Rodriguez into the wire on the corner between the ground and the fence, Holloway traps his foe with punches and elbows. Holloway blasts the midsection with his knees along the way, and Rodriguez is able to burst back to his feet right before the horn.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Holloway
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Holloway
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Holloway

Round 4
Holloway has a large welt on his side, with some serious damage showing from the kicks of his opponent, but he does not even seem to notice. Holloway crashes in to pursue a takedown, and Rodriguez shucks it off but gets punched in the face three times for his effort. Holloway invests in body shots, and Rodriguez is swinging for the fences with full power in every one of his strikes. Holloway walks through a leg kick to land a few punches, and Rodriguez is right there to trade with him fearlessly. They close their range and Holloway ties up with him, but he lets go so that he can work the body. Holloway slams his knee into Rodriguez’s body, and he grips on to a guillotine choke standing up to cinch it up. The former champ uses the choke to press Rodriguez down to the ground, and he nearly takes mount, but settles for half guard with the intent to get right to side control. Holloway lands a few elbows from above, and Rodriguez fires back off his back but the strikes are not nearly as powerful as Holloway’s. “El Pantera” hunts for a leglock, and Holloway stands up, spins around, and climbs back down to secure an odd position between side control and back control. The fighter out of Mexico spins around, threatens with an upkick, and ultimately surrenders a very bad position. Holloway clamps down with three-quarter mount, and all the while, he is battering Rodriguez with ground-and-pound. Possibly through sheer force of will, Rodriguez fights his way back to his feet and walking up the fence. Holloway allows this so that he can tee off on “El Pantera,” taming him with a few punches and evading the counters. Rodriguez swings wide with an elbow, and after a furious exchange, a punch from Holloway with the thumb not secured to his fist pokes into Rodriguez’ eye. Goddard allows Rodriguez to recover, and he does so after a 45-second break. When they resume, Holloway jumps in with a knee, and Rodriguez tries to perform his own version of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski with a right hand to counter Holloway on the way in. Holloway’s chin holds together, and he settles down and quickly blocks a flying knee that whizzes at him. They start to trade heavy leather, with Holloway scoring an elbow in close range while Rodriguez headhunts. In close range, Holloway spins with a kick to the body. This seems to energize Rodriguez, who jumps at him with a flying strike and a wild array of looping punches that mostly miss until the round ends.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Holloway
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Holloway
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Holloway

Round 5
Rodriguez’ corner implores their fighter to throw caution to the wind and abandon his gameplan. When they start off the last round, they hug it out, and go right down to trading punches. Holloway lands the cleaner of the strikes, forcing Rodriguez to spin around and kick him in the side. Rodriguez rips the body with a kick, scores two punches, and kicks the same spot one more time. Holloway does not even budge, and instead he strings a trio of punches together. Holloway lands a long chain of punches and punctuates it with a big knee as Rodriguez is up against the wall. Rodriguez is able to gain space, and he steps forward with an elbow that barely registers. The body shots from Holloway draw reactions from his opponent more than the ones to the head, and yet Rodriguez continues to gather himself and throw back. Rodriguez turns a few low kicks into an odd combination, but it lands cleanly and Holloway smiles at him. When Holloway lands a few punches, Rodriguez times a capoeira kick that glances off his guard. The former champ welcomes this, as he pushes Rodriguez to the ground and steps into half guard. As they wrangle for position on the ground, Rodriguez manages to sweep his opponent and get on top. Holloway fights out of a guillotine choke and scoots his way to the fence so that he can stand up, and it is Rodriguez who pursues a single when they are against the wall. Rodriguez nails Holloway with a spinning elbow, and it slashes Holloways’ face open. Holloway works the body with a few knees, and then shoves off so they can get back to kickboxing range. Rodriguez wings a spinning kick that misses, and a right hand does connect. The furious swinging of fists and fingers results in Holloway getting poked in the eye, and Goddard forces him to pause and recover instead of just charging forward. After a few seconds, the match resumes and Holloway pressures him with a few punches. Holloway is wearing it, and he and Rodriguez throw down while Rodriguez is doing everything he can to finish the fight. Holloway just avoids the brunt of the damage with a spinning kick to the torso, and he ties “El Pantera” up on the fence to work him over with clinch strikes. The former champion gets off a few more short strikes until the final bell, and we have miraculously made it to the end of the 25-minute period after a total thriller. After two years away, Rodriguez gave a real accounting of himself, and the judges will have the final say in the matter. With the decision going in favor of the Hawaiian, Holloway celebrates his opponent and gives it up for their hard-fought battle while shouting, “Viva Mexico!” A fight card many were ruing ended up delivering practically from bell to bell, with eight knockouts and nine finishes across 11 bouts. This mid-day card is over, and the next Fight Night will be upon us in a week even as the order of the matchups is still being determined by the UFC. We will be here for it, and we hope you are too.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (48-47 Holloway)
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (48-47 Holloway)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (48-47 Holloway)

The Official Result
Max Holloway def. Yair Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)

Jeremy Stephens vs. Yair Rodriguez

Round 1
We are now treated to a rematch of the main event from UFC Mexico City in September, which tragically ended due to an eye poke within 15 seconds. Rodriguez (12-2, 1 NC; 7-1, 1 NC UFC) is ready to run it back with Stephens (28-16, 1 NC; 16-15, 1 NC UFC), and tensions are high. Trying to keep a lid on this featherweight tilt is referee Kevin MacDonald. There is no touch of the gloves of any kind, as Rodriguez leaps through the air with a flying head kick that clanks off the dome of Stephens. Stephens wings back some angry punches, and the two trade for a moment with bad intentions. Rodriguez clinches up and pushes Stephens against the cage, and Stephens throws a knee to the body, so Rodriguez retaliates with one of his own. The crowd has started to chant "U.S.A." to root on their home country fighter, and as they break apart, Rodriguez lands a powerful elbows over the top. "El Pantera" throws a wild spinning wheel kick that is nowhere near the mark, but he regains position and throws several heavy kicks on both legs. A few body kicks are finding their home on Stephens' midsection, and they are adding up quick. Stephens fires back with everything he has in the form of right hands, but Rodriguez keeps his distance with effective kicks. Another body kick digs in for Rodriguez, and Stephens has lowered his right hand to defend this specific attack. Stephens ducks down possibly for a takedown, but after a little clinch fighting, the two separate. Rodriguez chooses to crash forward into the clinch again, landing a knee up the middle to get there. As Rodriguez slaps a low kick, Stephens rips a right hand to the body of his opponent. The Mexican pulls off a jumping switch kick that catches Stephens flush, but Stephens walks through it. As Stephens presses forward, Rodriguez drops him with a left jab, but cannot take advantage of his grounded adversary as Stephens returns to his feet. Two more kicks get off from Rodriguez, as Stephens chases him around and motions an obscene gesture to end the round.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez
Mike Sloan scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez

Round 2
Rodriguez opens up round two with a spinning kick, but Stephens is able to get up his guard on time. The Mexican fighter then whips a head kick up top, but it is the body kick that follows that does serious damage and makes Stephens buckle over. As Stephens stumbles backwards, Rodriguez swarms him with punches, throwing everything he has into his punches. Stephens defends himself by pursuing a takedown, but Rodriguez is relentless with punches. "Lil' Heathen" is able to survive the assault by going after low takedowns, but Rodriguez walks over it and lands long punches. On his back, Stephens eats wild hammerfists but begins to throw punches while on his back. Rodriguez latches on a brabo choke, and Stephens is trying to roll out of it and survives the submission attempt but is still in grave danger. With pure willpower, Stephens stands back up and unleashes the hardest punches he can possibly throw on Rodriguez. Rodriguez dodges and weaves out of the way of most of these shots, and as Rodriguez catches Stephens to the body again with a kick, Stephens wraps Rodriguez and tries to take him down. Rodriguez rolls through to try to get out of the position but ends up on his back, with Stephens on top raining down punches. El Pantera throws up his legs to search for a triangle choke, and Stephens is not out of the woods yet. In more of a leg scissor choke than a triangle, Stephens breaks the posture and grinds his elbow on his opponent's face as Rodriguez is warned for grabbing the cage. Rodriguez gradually stands up, and Stephens punishes him with a salvo of punches. The Mexican eats several more shots as he finally gets to his feet, and whips a body kick out that backs away Stephens as this crazy round ends.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez
Mike Sloan scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez

Round 3
Stephens comes out threatening with big shots, and as Rodriguez throws a kick out to back him off, he catches Stephens in the groin with a kick. Stephens calls the ref off so that he can charge at Rodriguez, and he slings looping shots that score on Rodriguez and get the crowd amped up. Rodriguez tries to keep his distance with leg kicks, and Stephens catches him on the end of a right hand that Rodriguez wears well. Suddenly, Stephens drops for a double leg takedown and gets Rodriguez down, and although Rodriguez gets back up, Stephens makes sure to score with several punches on his way up. The two separate, but not for long, as Stephens rushes in to secure another takedown and lands in Rodriguez' guard. Rodriguez attempts to utilize a rubber guard to get hold of Stephens' neck, but Stephens pushes the leg off and tries to get his ground-and-pound going. It is quite unfortunate that this fight is only three rounds instead of five, as Stephens sits on top in half guard while throwing punches from above. Stephens continues to mount offense on top in the form of numerous left hands, and the American then decides to drop down elbows that get heavier the more he throws. A huge left hand from Stephens scores as he stands up and dives down to land it, and after some more thudding strikes, the fight is now over. In a display of great sportsmanship, the two embrace, both thrilled with their performances.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Stephens (29-28 Rodriguez)
Mike Sloan scores the round: 10-9 Stephens (29-28 Rodriguez)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-8 Stephens (28-28 Draw)

The Official Result
Yair Rodriguez def. Jeremy Stephens via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Andre Fili vs. Yair Rodriguez

Round 1
Rodriguez puts a spinning kick in the breadbasket of Fili, who charges forward but comes up short with a flurry of punches. Fili dodges the next spinning kick and steps inside for a brief moment to jab the Mexican fighter. Rodriguez catches a kick, dumps Fili to the ground and follows him to the mat with a few good punches. Heavy right hands and elbows follow, but Fili eats them and gives Rodriguez an upkick to the face as he stands. Rodriguez opts to come back to the ground, now looking to secure one of Fili’s legs for a possible submission attempt. “Pantera” soon abandons the leg and instead settles down in Fili’s half guard at the midway point of round one. Rodriguez uses a can opener to make things uncomfortable for Fili, who tries to hip-bump but only succeeds in knocking Rodriguez into half guard. Rodriguez springs to his feet inside the final minute and kicks at the legs of his prone opponent before Fili stands, too. Rodriguez eats a jab and nearly slips to the ground, but he keeps his balance. Fili explodes into a takedown in the final seconds, plows Rodriguez to the mat but cannot keep him there.

Sherdog Scores
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Rodriguez
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Rodriguez
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Rodriguez

Round 2
Rodriguez comes flying at Fili with a leaping kick, falls to the ground and springs back to his feet before Fili can capitalize on the error. A hard leg kick from Fili knocks Rodriguez to his back, but again “Pantera” is able to pop right back up. One minute into the round, Rodriguez changes levels for a double-leg and floors Fili a few feet away from the fence. Referee Dan Miragliotta calls for action; this seems to suit Fili, who tries to tie up Rodriguez from underneath. Rodriguez stands voluntarily and allows Fili to follow, then chases him against the fence and launches himself into the air with a leaping roundhouse kick. Fili takes a shin directly to the face and collapses to his back, sending referee Miragliotta into action for the immediate stop. Yair Rodriguez produces a highlight-reel knockout midway through the second round.

The Official Result
Yair Rodriguez def. Andre Fili via KO (Head Kick) R2 2:15