Dana White praises Yair Rodriguez following decision loss to Max Holloway at UFC Vegas 42
UFC president Dana White praised featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez following his decision loss to Max Holloway at UFC Vegas 42.
Rodriguez returned from a two-year layoff to take on Holloway in the five-round main event of UFC Vegas 42. According to the betting odds, Holloway was a 6-to-1 favorite to win the fight, meaning Rodriguez was given very little chance of winning the fight by the betting public. But he did everything he could to make it a close fight, and although he ultimately lost a close decision on the scorecards, it was still a great performance by Rodriguez despite the loss. When speaking to the media following the event, his boss White had nothing but good things to say about Rodriguez. Check out what White said at the post-fight presser.
“Anybody who’s off two years, I never expect this kind of performance from them, at all. And not just the entire fight, but from the beginning when the fight started. His timing was perfect, his speed and accuracy, how he kept going for the calf kick, he would hit him in the calf a few times and then go to the head. You couldn’t look any better than Yair looked tonight (in a loss). He looked incredible. His chin, his heart, everything was there tonight,” White said.
It will be interesting to see what is next for Rodriguez following this loss to Holloway. Despite the defeat, Rodriguez will likely remain ranked in the top-five at 145lbs, so he will likely get a big-name opponent his next time out. Looking at the featherweight division, a fight against Brian Ortega seems to make some sense.
What do you think Dana White and the UFC brass should do with Yair Rodriguez next following a close but competitive loss to Max Holloway at UFC Vegas 42?
