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UFC 197: Yair Rodriguez Everything Fans Love About MMA and Then Some

LAS VEGAS — The night of UFC 197 was supposed to belong to Jon Jones—the greatest of all time who was returning after 15 months away from the cage—and Demetrious Johnson—the pound-for-pound king who continues to dominate hi…

But it was a relatively unknown fighter who stole the spotlight.

Fighting for the first time in Las Vegas, Yair Rodriguez captivated the audience with a series of wild and exciting techniques that left his foe, Andre Fili, confused and ultimately unconscious.

It was obvious from the start of the fight that Fili was uncomfortable with the offense the tall, rangy featherweight was presenting. Rodriguez kept Fili off-balance with a mix of unorthodox striking techniques and surprisingly good wrestling.

The end of the fight came when Rodriguez unloaded a brilliantly timed jumping switch kick—shin connecting with chin—that landed with a sickening thud and left Fili motionless on the canvas. The Knockout of the Year candidate sent the MGM Grand Garden Arena into a frenzy and gave El Pantera his biggest win to date.

“I saw him close his eyes and I just go for it,” said Rodriguez in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

The 23-year-old from Chihuahua, Mexico, burst onto the MMA scene after winning the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America back in November 2014. He followed that up with a hard-fought victory over Charles Rosa at UFC 188 and a dominant win over Dan Hooker at UFC 192.

However, it wasn’t until Saturday night that his flashy, fan-friendly style produced a result that left fans chanting “Pantera” as they exited the arena.

At just 8-1, Rodriguez is still a baby in the sport. However, he’s shown improvements each time he’s stepped into the cage. While his striking—which is reminiscent of a young Anthony Pettis’—is still his calling card, Rodriguez has shown an ever-improving ground game.

After working with acclaimed wrestling coach Israel “Izzy” Martinez for most of his career, Rodriguez has switched to Mark Berry to help with takedown techniques.

“I have my basics in wrestling and I was looking for something different,” said Rodriguez in the post-fight press conference. “I’m a skinny guy and I’m not that strong, so we’re working on more leverage and using my opponent’s weight against him.”

Though he’s quickly becoming a very dangerous fighter with a well-rounded skill set, don’t think for a second that he’ll abandon the style that has the UFC seeing dollar signs.

“It’s the way that I fight,” proclaimed Rodriguez. “I cannot do any other stuff because it’s me. I work on my basics, but right now I’m going to be the same Yair Rodriguez as always.”

While the UFC and fans alike will be happy with this statement, this mentality could ultimately be a detriment to his long-term success.

As he moves up the ranks in the division, he’ll face fighters who’ll be able to take advantage of the openings his wild techniques leave. He’s going to get taken down, he’s going to get hit with counter strikes.

Sooner or later, Rodriguez will have to decide if it’s worth throwing wild kicks and punches if he’s going to pay a heavy price.

The flip side is that fans love fighters who leave it all in the cage. They want to be entertained by a go-for-broke style. Yair is everything a fan wants in a fighter. He’s someone they’ll pay to see—win, lose or draw.

Much like Conor McGregor, Rodriguez could ignite a tidal wave of support from his home country. The pride of Chihuahua may be headed for a headlining spot on the next UFC card in the country—which is slated for November, according to MMAWeekly.

This would give the company a viable promotional option in the area other than the injury-prone Cain Velasquez.

With Saturday’s performance, Rodriguez is officially a star on the rise in the featherweight division. The UFC should not rush his rise up the ranks, though. He still has some work to do before mixing it up with the Top 10 in a talent-stacked division.

However, the tools are there for Rodriguez to blossom into something truly special.

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UFC 176: Chad Mendes Ready to Get His Revenge Against Jose Aldo

It’s said that good things come to those that wait, and for No. 1 UFC featherweight contender Chad “Money” Mendes, the wait to exact revenge on 145-pound champ Jose Aldo can’t end soon enough.
Long seen as the division’s top contender…

Long seen as the division’s top contender, Mendes has had to wait over two years to get his chance to erase the lone loss on his record. If Chad could have gotten his way, the wait would have been much shorter.

“We’ve actually known it was going to be him (Aldo) for two months now. We just didn’t know the date or the location,” said Mendes in an interview with Bleacher Report.

The fight is finally set for August 2 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after Aldo turned down the chance to fight on two earlier cards—UFC 173 and UFC 175—according to Mendes.

It’s clear that the Team Alpha Male standout is champing at the bit to get back into the cage with a fighter many consider top three on the pound-for-pound list.

“All I can say is payback is a b—h!” Mendes exclaimed.

Seen as one of Aldo’s more dangerous challenges heading into that fight (due to his wrestling pedigree), Mendes held his own against the champ in Round 1. He was able to secure a takedown and was primed to land another one before Aldo grabbed the cage, allowing him to regain his balance and stay on his feet. After some grinding against the cage, Chad was hit with a quick knee that left him out on the canvas and searching for answers.

While many will look to the first fight between the two as a forecast to what lays ahead, Mendes insists that a “different Chad” will be across the cage from Aldo come August.

“I’ve changed completely,” said the diminutive but powerful Mendes. “I was basically a baby in the first fight (Mendes had only fought in the UFC twice and sported an overall record of 11-0), and looking back, it might have been too early to take the fight. My game was 90-95 percent wrestling.”

That has since changed with the introduction of Duane “Bang” Ludwig as head coach at Team Alpha Male. Under Ludwig’s tutelage, Mendes has reeled off five straight wins, four of which came by way of KO or TKO.

No fight was more impressive than his destruction of savvy veteran Clay Guida at UFC 164. Not only did Mendes run through one of the toughest fighters in the UFC; he also became the first man to finish Guida inside the Octagon.

“The Guida KO showed that my striking has come a long way,” explained Mendes. “The striking mixing with my wrestling will be so much harder for Aldo to deal with come August 2nd.”

While Mendes’ evolution as a mixed martial artist has shown exponentially in every single one of his fights, the same can’t be said for the champion. Once renowned for his striking ability, Aldo has struggled to finish opponents since arriving in the UFC. His lone finish other than Mendes came against Chan Sung Jung, but only after Jung suffered a serious shoulder injury.

Mendes says that he’s “seen a plateau” in Aldo’s game since their first encounter.

“The fight where he’s made the most improvement was the Edgar fight, but it was just a couple small things,” said Mendes. ‘”He jabbed backwards and even jabbed forward, which he never really did. His techniques seemed to all be the same.

“He’s still very dangerous, but it’s a lot easier for me to look at the last fights on him and see that there’s not a whole bunch there that has changed and set up my game plan off of that.”

This fight offers a unique challenge to Mendes, as Ludwig’s time as head coach at Team Alpha Male is coming to a close. In turn, the 29-year-old will be forced to split time between the Sacramento-based gym and Ludwig’s new academy in Colorado. Mendes will also be bringing in Martin Kampmann—perennial UFC welterweight contender and rumored new head coach of Team Alpha Male—to help with the camp.

Heading into what could well be the defining fight of his career, Mendes is relaxed and confident. The comfort of knowing the fight will be in the U.S. instead of Brazil has the native Californian anxious to take it to the longtime Brazilian champ.

“Home-field is huge—we were pushing for the fight to take place in the States,” said Mendes, who explained that between the roughly 17-hour flight, the time difference, the food (which he said was extra salty, making it tougher to cut weight) and the raucous Brazilian crowd (which is known to chant “you’re going to die” to opposing fighters), he’s ecstatic to be fighting in his backyard.

Mendes is a man hellbent on revenge, and on Aug. 2 he plans on getting it the most brutal fashion possible.

“I’m going in there looking to knock his head off,” proclaims Mendes, who seems a bit perturbed by Aldo’s prediction that he will be able knock him out for the second time.

“If he thinks this is going to be an easy fight, he’s in for a rude awakening. This is going to be the best Chad Mendes anyone has seen.”

All quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise

Want to talk MMA, follow me on twitter @Jeremy_Los15

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UFC: Is Cormier’s UFC Future Brighter at Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight?

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champ Daniel Cormier will make his way to the UFC following his final Strikeforce fight against Dion Staring this Saturday night. Cormier is currently seen as the top heavyweight outside of the UFC and one of the hott…

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champ Daniel Cormier will make his way to the UFC following his final Strikeforce fight against Dion Staring this Saturday night.

Cormier is currently seen as the top heavyweight outside of the UFC and one of the hottest, and most decorated, prospects in MMA; however, once he enters the world’s most famous MMA organization, his future will be brighter outside of the heavyweight division.

Tipping the scales at just over 235 pounds, the diminutive – compared to other heavyweights — Cormier has been fighting bigger fighters the majority of his time in Strikeforce, and while I don’t doubt that he could make a serious dent in the heavyweight division, his future is brighter cutting the weight and fighting men his size.

If able to cut the weight Cormier, will likely be near the front of the line for a title shot against Jon Jones. While Cormier could conceivably be already at the front of the line for a shot at the heavyweight strap, the fact that his friend and long-time training partner Cain Velasquez currently holds the belt erases any chance that he would take the fight.

Cormier is not a young man, 33, despite being a relative newbie to MMA, so he will likely have to jump into the deep end. Being able to fight the top guys and potentially the champ early will be key to brightening his star among the casual UFC fan.

If he were to make the cut down, his world-class wrestling ability and heavy hands would be a welcomed sight for fans in the light heavyweight division.

Under the reign of Jon Jones the division has fallen from its position as the deepest division in the UFC and has become utterly stagnant, leading to one of the most egregious title shots in UFC history.

Fights with Lyoto Machida, Dan Henderson, Shogun Rua, and Alexander Gustaffson would also highly entertaining and incredible match-ups.

Sure, ‘DC’ could stay in the heavyweight division and fight the likes of Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir, and Fabricio Werdum. However, Treading water in the UFC heavyweight division, where one punch can send you shooting down the totem pole, while waiting for Cain to potentially lose would be a giant waste of Daniel’s immense talent.

Cormier is an incredible talent that could be the next big star inside the UFC, but in order to have the brightest future inside the octagon he will have to relive his wrestling days and cut some weight.

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UFC 144: Why Win or Lose, Frankie Edgar Should Fight Jose Aldo Next

This weekend, UFC lightweight kingpin Frankie Edgar will defend his strap against former WEC lightweight titleholder Ben Henderson. Edgar will have his hands full with Henderson in Japan in a fight that could go either way. However, regardless of the outcome Saturday night, Edgar has proven himself to be a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter, as he has fought the cream of the crop and has steadily improved with each and every fight. Win or lose, his next opponent should be of the same caliber.

The fight that everyone wants to see would be a scrap with current featherweight champ Jose Aldo.

Let’s face it, Edgar is a glorified featherweight fighting currently above his optimum weight and he is still dominating his foes. How long that continues to last will be determined Saturday night. Whether at 145, 155 or a 150 catch weight, Aldo-Edgar makes a ton of sense and would be guaranteed fireworks. Stylistically, the matchup is captivating, and it would be the biggest fight in the history of the lighter weight divisions.

It would be interesting to see if the power wrestling and speed of Edgar could force Aldo to the mat, wear him out and pound on him. Aldo has shown that he can stifle the wrestling of top grapplers like Chad Mendes and Urijah Faber with brutal leg kicks and a quick sprawl, but neither compare to Edgar—he took down BJ and guys roughly 20 pounds heavier than him for crying out loud.

Once on the ground, Aldo would undoubtedly have trouble dealing with the top game of Edgar. We all saw what Mark Hominick did to Aldo—albeit through exhaustion—on the ground in Toronto; imagine what Edgar could do.

If Aldo is to stuff the takedowns, we could see if Edgar’s speed advantage is the same against someone his own size. Edgar has been able to out-box nearly everyone in the lightweight division using exceptional movement and crisp counters and combos. However, Aldo is arguably just as fast and his brutal leg kicks could slow Edgar down to a crawl. Furthermore, Aldo’s power is downright scary—for those who need reassurance, look at the knockouts of Manny Gamburian and Cub Swanson. Would Edgar be able to withstand that? Edgar has been rocked on numerous occasions by fighters not as gifted as Jose. Could he take it on the jaw and keep moving? Could he survive much like he did vs. Maynard in both fights?

Wow, this fight is still but a fantasy, yet just talking about it has made the hair on my arm stand up.

Fans clamor for these types of super fights—where two top fighters from different weight classes meet—all the time and very rarely do they ever come to fruition. Only a few come to mind: St-Pierre-Penn 2, Silva-Griffin, Hughes-Gracie and Fedor-Henderson, and only one had title implications.

Edgar-Aldo is the perfect matchup because both fighters could easily be the champ or top contender in either division; if you think otherwise, you are kidding yourself. And both are in their prime. Two of the aforementioned fights had fighters well past their prime and it made for less than stellar fights.

This fight fills a huge void in the mega-fight discussion as the UFC is all but guaranteed to miss out on a proposed mega-fight between the two top pound-for-pound fighters in Silva and GSP. While this fight is not on the same level as a GSP-Spider matchup, it still would bring in millions of dollars in revenue for the UFC while also bringing a ton of attention to the often overshadowed lighter weight classes.

While the UFC lightweight division and featherweight division might be filled with great young talent, the UFC needs this fight—especially with UFC president Dana White refusing to bring consensus No. 2 lightweight Gilbert Melendez over from Strikeforce to challenge for the UFC strap. The lighter divisions need a showcase fight and this is about the biggest showcase fight the UFC could put on. Dana has said on numerous occasions that he makes fights the people want to see. Well, fans are clamoring for this one, not to mention the fighters have already expressed interest in a possible fight…Make it happen!

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What’s Next for UFC on Fuel TV Winners

The UFC made its first foray onto Fuel TV Wednesday night, and it was an unbridled success.Headlined by a welterweight bout with title implications between The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 winner Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger, the fight car…

The UFC made its first foray onto Fuel TV Wednesday night, and it was an unbridled success.

Headlined by a welterweight bout with title implications between The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 winner Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger, the fight card featured an array of mid-level fighters pushing to make a name for themselves.

Following an exciting action inside the world-famous Octagon, the question remains: What is next for those fighters who came out victorious?

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