Yair Rodriguez believes he is “more unpredictable” than anyone Alexander Volkanovski has fought ahead of UFC 290
UFC interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez believes he is “more unpredictable” than anyone the champ Alexander Volkanovski has fought ahead of UFC 290.
Rodriguez takes on Volkanovski this Saturday at UFC 290 in a title unification bout at 145lbs. For Rodriguez, he enters this fight coming off of a submission win over the super-tough Josh Emmett, a victory that displayed how unique he is as a fighter in this weight class. While Volkanovski is a perfect 12-0 as a UFC featherweight, Rodriguez believes that he has the skills necessary to give the champion problems in this fight, mainly because his style is so “unpredictable.”
Speaking to MMAjunkie.com in a recent interview, Rodriguez explained why he’s a tough matchup for Volkanovski.
“I don’t know if I’m the most dangerous or not, but I just think I’m the rival that can change styles, the rival that’s more unpredictable than the rest, the rival that’s going to be the most difficult to compete against,” Rodriguez said. “I’m that rival. He won’t know if I’m coming out southpaw or orthodox, if I’m going to throw a submission, if I’m going to wrestle. It’s unknown. Often times, these styles are very set in specific ways, you already know what’s coming. I have the ability to change my fighting style to my advantage depending on my opponent. I think that’s what’s going to be difficult for Alexander Volkanovski in this occasion.”
Rodriguez is 10-2, 1 NC overall in the UFC, while Volkanovski is 12-1, so on paper, this should be an absolutely phenomenal fight between two of the best featherweights in the world. The oddsmakers have Volkanovski as a considerable favorite to unify the titles, but clearly, Rodriguez is not short on confidence heading into this bout.
Do you think Yair Rodriguez will be able to pull off the upset over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 290?
