Highlights! ‘Blessed’ Impresses Again, Spoils Yair’s Return

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway scored another main event victory earlier tonight (Sat., Nov. 13, 2021) at UFC Vegas 42 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when “Blessed” outpointed Yair Rodriguez over the course of five wild rounds to capture a unanimous decision win.

Holloway did the most damage in the opening round with crisp jabs, body shots, and great counter punching. However, Rodriguez did a lot of good work with whipping leg kicks that seemed to bother “Blessed” and opened him up for some hard punches. Rodriguez landed more with his hands in the second and even snuck in one of his patented elbows during an inside exchange, but Holloway kept pushing forward and countered with his own shots.

Holloway took control in the third round with great pressure and ended up knocking Rodriguez down with a short punch. “Blessed” gained top control and launched heavy ground-and-pound. Rodriguez survived to return to his feet, but Holloway took the action down again with moments left in the frame. Holloway nearly locked up a standing guillotine in the fourth round, but “El Pantera” defended nicely to avoid the finish. Holloway ended up in top control again and scored more points for the cards.

The fifth and final round saw Holloway keep the foot on the gas and pressure Rodriguez with forward movement and punches in bunches. Rodriguez still offered some hard body kicks and power counters, but not enough to stop “Blessed” for the upset.

Check out the video highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC Vegas 42 results and coverage click here.