Can Max Holloway sustain his incredible striking output against Yair Rodriguez?
This week’s fight card, UFC Vegas 42, which streams in its entirety on ESPN+, features a headlining bout that promises striking fireworks. That contest is a matchup between former champion Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.
Holloway lost his title to Alexander Volkanovski in 2019 and failed to regain that belt in their 2020 rematch. He bounced back from those back-to-back losses with an overwhelming striking display against Calvin Kattar in January.
Rodriguez has not fought since October 2019 when he scored a decision win over Jeremy Stephens.
If Rodriguez has any amount of cage rust going into this one, expect Holloway to exploit that with his incredibly high striking output. Holloway landed an incredible 445 significant strikes in his win over Kattar. HIs average significant strikes per minute of 7.18 ranks him third all-time in the featherweight division.
Rodriguez might not have the output of his opponent, but he is dangerous at all points in a fight. Remember, this is the man who scored a knockout over Chan Sung Jung at 4:59 of the fifth and final round during that 2018 scrap.
Here is a look at how the two competitors match up in key stats ahead of Vegas 42. UFC Vegas 42 takes place on Saturday, November 13 from UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire event streams on ESPN+.