Tag Archives: Yair Rodriguez

UFC 211 Odds and Preview: Frankie Edgar vs. Yair Rodriguez

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Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar faces the up and coming Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight contest at UFC 211 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas on May 13th.

Just The Gatekeeper?

Frankie Edgar has seen it all and has been there in the sport. After losing his lightweight title to Benson Henderson, losing to Bendo in the rematch and losing to Jose Aldo in his first bout at featherweight, Edgar has won six of seven bouts in impressive fashion. The only loss for Edgar during this period was his UFC 200 defeat to Jose Aldo (again) in his most recent bout. After losing his last three title fights, many wonder if Frankie is simply the gatekeeper now. The Answer hopes to prove them wrong with a win over the fast rising Yair Rodriguez.

Rising Star

Yair Rodriguez is the rising star at featherweight. After winning the first season of TUF Latin America, Rodriguez has remained perfect in his UFC career. El Pantera opened with victories over Charles Rosa, Dan Hooker and Andre Fili. He then headlined his first event last August where he beat Alex Caceres via split decision. Rodriguez’s last three wins have been fight of the night bonus winners. He is looking for the signature victory that will push him to the upper echelon in his weight class. He will have that opportunity against the battle tested Frankie Edgar.

Odds And Prediction

Frankie Edgar is a -175 favorite against Yair Rodriguez, who is at +150 right now. No doubt Frankie has the edge in experience but Yair Rodriguez has the tools to beat Frankie Edgar. First, Edgar isn’t a known knockout artists so this opens up the opportunity for Rodriguez to take his chances with his unorthodox striking. El Pantera’s superb striking skills should put Frankie Edgar on his toes and make him hesitant to shoot for takedowns.

Should Edgar be successful in taking down Rodriguez, Yair has shown much improved ground game which shouldn’t keep him on the ground for too long for Frankie to dominate. Rodriguez also has freak athleticism which can free him in the clinch. In short, we think Rodriguez is going to turn this into a striking battle and he has a three inch reach advantage. For sure Yair Rodriguez is a live underdog. We’re picking him to beat Frankie Edgar in a competitive fight.

UFC Fight Night 103: B.J. Penn vs. Yair Rodriguez Preview and Prediction

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B.J. Penn makes his long awaited UFC return on January 15th when he faces former TUF Latin America winner Yair Rodriguez in a five round featherweight bout that will serve as the main event of UFC Fight Night 103 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.

Take Four

The former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion Penn hasn’t fought in two years and his return to the octagon has been postponed on several occasions. Penn was originally slated to face Denis Siver at UFC 196 (then 197) , Cole Miller at UFC 199 and then Ricardo Lamas at UFC Fight Night Manila.

But those bouts didn’t push thru for one reason or another, leaving Penn’s latest comeback attempt in question. The most recent of those, against Lamas, was cancelled after Penn suffered a rib injury. But with Penn now 100% healthy, the Prodigy is finally set to return to the sport where he became a legend.

Unbeaten Prospect

Yair Rodriguez is one of the up and coming fighters in the featherweight division. After winning The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight tournament in 2014, Pantera has racked up four straight victories to rise to #10 in the rankings. In his most recent outing, Rodriguez headlined UFC Fight Night 92. There, he came up with his biggest UFC win, a five round decision win over fellow prospect Alex Caceres. Against Penn, Yair will not only be headlining his second event, he will be facing the first legitimate superstar in his young UFC career.

Past His Prime

There is no doubt that B.J. Penn is already past his prime at age 38. Penn hasn’t won since knocking out Matt Hughes at UFC 123 in 2010. Since then, he’s fought just four times, losing thrice and figuring in a draw once. Penn’s last fight was in 2014, when he got knocked out by Frankie Edgar during the TUF 19 Finale. After that fight, Penn announced his retirement, again. A year later, he announced his intention to return by starting to work with Greg Jackson at the Jackson Wink MMA in New Mexico. However, it remains to be seen what is left of Penn, if anything.

Winnable, Though

Despite the obvious downside, this is a winnable fight for B.J. Penn. Yair Rodriguez isn’t heavy handed and we saw that against Alex Caceres. He only has two KOs in 8 MMA wins. He isn’t also excellent in any particular discipline. He doesn’t have great boxing or wrestling and that leaves an opportunity for Penn to beat him. However, Rodriguez has great pace and cardio. He pushes his unorthodox attack with voluminous kicks. It’s in these that Penn may not be able to keep up with. Most likely, this will be the scenario. While Rodriguez may not have the pop to knock out B.J. Penn, he does have the pace to outstrike him for five rounds. Our pick here? Yair Rodriguez by unanimous decision.