UFC Fan View: Yair Rodríguez - Stepping Up To The Elite At UFC 211

If his last performance was anything to go by, 24-year-old Mexican fighter Yair Rodríguez is ready to compete with anyone in the UFC’s featherweight division.

It was only his 11th professional bout and it saw him take on BJ Penn, a former two-weight champion and arguably the greatest fighter in the history of the lighter weight classes.

Granted, Penn, at 37, was a fading force, making a comeback from a second retirement and dropping down to 145lbs for just the second time in his career. But regardless of the Hawaiian’s diminishing powers, Rodríguez saw an opportunity to make a name for himself as grabbed it with both hands, finishing the veteran early in the second round of their January contest.

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Now, the taekwondo specialist is gearing up to face another former champion at UFC 211 next weekend in the form of Frankie Edgar.

Unlike Penn, Edgar, despite being 35, is still considered to be in his prime relatively speaking, with featherweight champion José Aldo the only man to have beaten the New Jersey-native in the last four years.

The fight will be the toughest test of Rodríguez’s career by some distance, and there are plenty who feel as though Edgar might be too much for the youngster at this stage of his career.

But a win, or even a strong showing in a competitive encounter, will elevate Rodríguez’s name into the discussion for title shots in the near future. Indeed, with Aldo set to take on interim champion Max Holloway to unify the 145lbs belt at UFC 212 next month, it would be logical for the winner of Rodríguez-Edgar to be pencilled in to challenge for the strap next time out.

If Rodríguez is able to propel himself into title contention with a win over his veteran opponent at UFC 211 in Dallas, Texas, it will be a major step in the 24-year-old ‘s already rapid rise since making his Octagon debut in November 2014.

Since then, he has fought six times, winning every bout, two of which by stoppage. Rodríguez’s exciting, flashy, kick-heavy style has also seen him earn post-fight bonuses four times, with two Fight of the Night awards and two for Performance of the Night.

With Conor McGregor having been forced to vacate the title while he pursues a lucrative boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, and as the likes of Edgar and Aldo edge toward the tail end of their fighting peak, Rodríguez and Holloway look like being the future of the division.

Both men face mountainous tasks in their next matchups, but few would be too surprised to see each end up with their hand raised, almost certainly then setting them on a collision course with each other.

The win over Penn put Rodríguez on the map, if he can do the same against Edgar, he’ll have truly announced his arrival among the elite at 145lbs.

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