The matchups are coming in thick and fast as the UFC tries to figure out the second half of the year in terms of fights. The most recent matchup announced is a featherweight clash between former champion Max Holloway and number three ranked featherweight Yair Rodriguez. 

The fight was initially set to take place on July 17th in Las Vegas. However, ‘Blessed’ withdrew from the bout because of an undisclosed injury, forcing the promotion to call off the fight. At the time it was not confirmed if the UFC would find ‘El Pantera’ a different opponent or reschedule the fight with Holloway for a later date. Recent reports suggest the UFC has opted for the latter. 

In an interview with TSN, Dana White confirmed that the UFC is targeting a Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez fight to headline the November 13th card. At this point in time, the venue for the same has not been finalized, nor has the fight itself been officially booked. UFC fans will be hoping the second time is the charm as a fight between ‘Blessed’ and ‘El Pantera’ would be epic. 

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Can Max Holloway secure a win and make a case for a title shot once again?

Max Holloway’s last outing was a fight against Calvin Kattar in Fight Island earlier this year. ‘Blessed’ put on arguably his best performance to date as he shattered multiple striking records on his way to a lopsided unanimous decision. The performance showed why he is still among the very best at 145-pounds. It was also the first time Holloway secured a win after back-to-back losses to Alexander Volkanovski. 

Rodriguez is 2-0-1 in his last three fights. After an accidental eye poke ended his fight with Jeremy Stephens in September 2019, he bounced back with a stunning performance and unanimous decision win over Stephens in October 2019. ‘El Pantera’ has not competed since then.

The fight will not only be an extremely close affair, but it will also have major implications on the title picture at 145-pounds. If Holloway wins the fight, he will most definitely take on the winner of Brian Ortega vs Alexander Volkanovski in his next fight.

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