LAS VEGAS — The night of UFC 197 was supposed to belong to Jon Jones—the greatest of all time who was returning after 15 months away from the cage—and Demetrious Johnson—the pound-for-pound king who continues to dominate his peers.
But it was a relatively unknown fighter who stole the spotlight.
Fighting for the first time in Las Vegas, Yair Rodriguez captivated the audience with a series of wild and exciting techniques that left his foe, Andre Fili, confused and ultimately unconscious.
It was obvious from the start of the fight that Fili was uncomfortable with the offense the tall, rangy featherweight was presenting. Rodriguez kept Fili off-balance with a mix of unorthodox striking techniques and surprisingly good wrestling.
The end of the fight came when Rodriguez unloaded a brilliantly timed jumping switch kick—shin connecting with chin—that landed with a sickening thud and left Fili motionless on the canvas. The Knockout of the Year candidate sent the MGM Grand Garden Arena into a frenzy and gave El Pantera his biggest win to date.
“I saw him close his eyes and I just go for it,” said Rodriguez in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
The 23-year-old from Chihuahua, Mexico, burst onto the MMA scene after winning the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America back in November 2014. He followed that up with a hard-fought victory over Charles Rosa at UFC 188 and a dominant win over Dan Hooker at UFC 192.
However, it wasn’t until Saturday night that his flashy, fan-friendly style produced a result that left fans chanting "Pantera" as they exited the arena.
At just 8-1, Rodriguez is still a baby in the sport. However, he’s shown improvements each time he’s stepped into the cage. While his striking—which is reminiscent of a young Anthony Pettis'—is still his calling card, Rodriguez has shown an ever-improving ground game.
After working with acclaimed wrestling coach Israel “Izzy” Martinez for most of his career, Rodriguez has switched to Mark Berry to help with takedown techniques.
“I have my basics in wrestling and I was looking for something different,” said Rodriguez in the post-fight press conference. “I’m a skinny guy and I’m not that strong, so we’re working on more leverage and using my opponent's weight against him.”
Though he’s quickly becoming a very dangerous fighter with a well-rounded skill set, don’t think for a second that he’ll abandon the style that has the UFC seeing dollar signs.
“It’s the way that I fight,” proclaimed Rodriguez. “I cannot do any other stuff because it’s me. I work on my basics, but right now I’m going to be the same Yair Rodriguez as always.”
While the UFC and fans alike will be happy with this statement, this mentality could ultimately be a detriment to his long-term success.
As he moves up the ranks in the division, he’ll face fighters who’ll be able to take advantage of the openings his wild techniques leave. He’s going to get taken down, he’s going to get hit with counter strikes.
Sooner or later, Rodriguez will have to decide if it’s worth throwing wild kicks and punches if he’s going to pay a heavy price.
The flip side is that fans love fighters who leave it all in the cage. They want to be entertained by a go-for-broke style. Yair is everything a fan wants in a fighter. He's someone they'll pay to see—win, lose or draw.
Much like Conor McGregor, Rodriguez could ignite a tidal wave of support from his home country. The pride of Chihuahua may be headed for a headlining spot on the next UFC card in the country—which is slated for November, according to MMAWeekly.
This would give the company a viable promotional option in the area other than the injury-prone Cain Velasquez.
With Saturday’s performance, Rodriguez is officially a star on the rise in the featherweight division. The UFC should not rush his rise up the ranks, though. He still has some work to do before mixing it up with the Top 10 in a talent-stacked division.
However, the tools are there for Rodriguez to blossom into something truly special.
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