Prediction for the fight Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez

Despite the controversial and controversial result of the second confrontation, Dana White, as expected, refused to organize in the future the box office trilogy of Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski, upsetting many fans of the Hawaiian. But that doesn't mean the UFC's most popular featherweight will no longer face the Australian champion. To get this battle, he needs one more Victoria, and he will get the opportunity to win it very soon.

As part of the main event of the UFC Fight Night 197 tournament, he will meet with Yair Rodriguez, who will return to the octagon after more than two years of hiatus and will clearly try to prove that he was idle for a reason, allowing him to count on a spectacular fight.

Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez

Max Holloway

Number 1 and 9 of the official featherweight and weight class ratings, respectively, as well as the former 145 lb champion of the organization. He has been practicing kickboxing for a long time, which, together with the brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, forms the foundation of his fighting style.

Having collected a record of 4-0 at the initial stage of his professional career, the fighter ended up in the UFC, where, due to the lack of much experience, he naturally lost the first three fights out of six. But then, realizing what mixed martial arts is and what they are eaten with, he began to gain momentum and three years later won the interim featherweight title, after which he became the undisputed champion of the division. After several successful defenses, the Hawaiian decided to repeat the main achievement in this sport and went for the champion belt in the light weight category. However, at the very first stage of his path, he turned out to be weaker than Dustin Poirier, after which he also lost his main title, which since then has not been able to return, gaining a foothold in the status of the main featherweight contender.

Strengths

According to the ratings of many specialized publications, the athlete is considered one of the best strikers in the history of mixed martial arts, regardless of the weight category. And this is not unreasonable, because its advantages are an incredible amount of work, a wide arsenal of blows and high durability.

The Hawaiian can deservedly be called the division's main cardio machine. Over the past two years, he has covered the championship distance five times in a row and has never shown strong drawdowns in endurance, regardless of whether he imposed his own pace or played by the rules of the opponent.

Weaknesses

In the arsenal of the former champion there is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but it is impossible to regard him as a good grappler even with a stretch. He repeatedly lost position after his few transfers, and also suffered most of the defeats, losing to the parterre, which speaks for itself.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

The athlete will go to a duel against the Mexican after defeating Calvin Kattar, before which he twice flew away from Alexander Volkanovski, defeated Frankie Edgar and was defeated by Dustin Poirier. Nine months have passed since his last performance, while he received three months to complete the camp.

Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez

Yair Rodriguez

The third number of the official rating of the promotion in the featherweight category and the winner of the second tournament in the same weight in the Latin American version of The Ultimate Fighter project. Since the age of five, he has been studying the intricacies of taekwondo, according to which today he has a black belt, complemented by good boxing and grappling skills.

At the beginning of his career as a professional mixed martial arts fighter, the athlete performed in various Mexican and American organizations, in which he collected a 5-1 record in two years. With him, he went to the next season of the television show TUF, a victory in which provided him with a contract with the UFC. After replenishing the roster of the best fighting league in the world, the Mexican from the very beginning began to demonstrate his readiness to break into its top, which he subsequently did, scoring eight victories with only one defeat.

Strengths

Through constant training from an early age, the fighter is now a versatile and creative striker who can compete with any opponent in stance. In this aspect, he is distinguished by knockout ability, unpredictable combinations, as well as developed low and high kicks.

The Mexican has repeatedly covered the three-round distance and at the same time climbed into the championship rounds twice, each time showing his readiness to be in the cage for a long time. Perhaps his current downtime will be reflected in this advantage, but this influence is unlikely to be strong.

Weaknesses

Despite the fact that the athlete is at the top of the official ranking of the promotion, his entire track record is represented by prospectuses and veterans who have long passed the peak of their form. Of course, this does not mean that at the first meeting with the top opposition, he will face difficulties, but this is usually what happens.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

In the last five fights, the prospect was unable to cope with Frankie Edgar and proved to be stronger than BJ Penn, Chung Chan Sung and Jeremy Stevens, with whom he also fought, ending with a stop due to an accidental hit in the eye of the latter. He will oppose the Hawaiian after two years of inactivity and a three-month camp.

Comparative analysis

Both fighters are very large representatives of the featherweight weight category and almost do not differ in size, being in this regard in an equal position. But in terms of work in the rack, there is no equality. Holloway is a top-notch drummer who is great at playing against similar style fighters that don't require adjustment. He surpasses the Mexican in everything, be it technique, activity or speed, leaving behind him, perhaps, only low-kicks, which, however, should not become a problem for him after two fights with Volkanovski, who is a great expert in this matter. One cannot count on the ground here. The Hawaiian almost does not translate in his performances, and even more so he will not try to drag his current counterpart to the ground, who, although he does not have many victories in submissions, surpasses him in grappling skills. In turn, Rodriguez simply does not have the quality of translations sufficient to break the defense of the former champion, which always left much to be desired and sometimes did not work even on athletes with an average takedown blocking rate.

Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez Fight Prediction

Bookmakers 'quotes perfectly reflect the fighters' chances for victory in this fight, which has a high probability of turning into a spectacular, but not the most competitive confrontation. Not only is the Mexican two heads lower than his opponent in striking, but he cannot be counted on to dominate the ground, he will also enter the octagon with a two-year downtime behind his shoulders, a performance with which against a counterpart of this class is a double test. We expect a repetition of the Hawaiian's fight against Calvin Kattara, which will end accordingly. Download 1xbet to your phone and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Max Holloway wins in round 4-5 or by decision.

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