Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway and top contender Yair Rodriguez are expected compete in a five round main event on July 17.
A high stakes fight in the UFC’s featherweight division is being targeted for the summer as longtime former champion Max Holloway is in talks to meet top contender Yair Rodriguez in the main event on July 17. ESPN was first to report the news.
Holloway (22-6) is looking to keep his place as the number one contender in the division after a statistically blistering performance in January against Calvin Kattar where he landed a record number of significant strikes with 445. “Blessed” went undefeated at featherweight from 2014 to 2019 with 14 victories that included winning and defending the title three times. His run was ended by current champion Alexander Volkanovski who bested Holloway in back-to-back competitive matches between 2019 and 2020.
Rodriguez (13-2) has not been seen since 2019 where he defeated Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision. Prior to that, “El Pantera” had only fought once in 2018 where he recorded a Knockout of the Year candidate over Chan Sung Jung. Rodriguez had been connected to talks regarding a fight with fellow contender Zabit Magomedsharipov but a fight never materialized.
The fight is expected to produce the next title challenger for the winner of the championship bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. The duo are scheduled to fight following the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter 29, where the two will be featured as coaches starting next week.
