Yair Rodriguez is a Mexican mixed martial artist currently competing in the UFC's featherweight division. Born on October 6, 1992, in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico, he started his professional MMA career in 2011 and has since made a name for himself as an exciting striker with an unorthodox style.
| Name | Yair Rodriguez |
| D.O.B | October 6, 1992 |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Weight | 66 kg |
| Occupation | Mixed Martial Artist |
| Professional Debut | 2011 |
| Fiance | Karen Alexa Grasso Montes |
| Nicknames | El Pantera |
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Yair Rodriguez grew up in a family of martial artists. His father was a boxer, and his grandfather was a karate practitioner, which gravitated his interest in combat sports. He began training in Taekwondo when he was five years old and later added kickboxing, boxing, and jiu-jitsu to his skillset.
Yair started training for MMA and made his professional debut in 2011 at Mexican Fighters Promotion (FMP) 8 against Jonatan Guzman which he won via unanimous decision in round 3. Yair fought for numerous promotions before joining the UFC in 2014.
Yair Rodriguez reportedly started his combat sports training at the age of 5 with his first combat style being taekwondo. Yair later added boxing, kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu to his skillset in preparation for his MMA debut.
Yair made his debut in the Mexican Fighters Promotion 8 against Jonatan Guzman in 2011, winning via unanimous decision. Afterward, he won against Edgar Balderrma in Jueves DIC 22 with a submission via rear-naked choke. Yair later joined UFC in 2014.
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Yair Rodriguez was revealed as a member of Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, competing for “Team Velasquez” in May of 2014. During the show, Rodriguez triumphed over Humberto Brown via a triangle choke and Rudolfo Rubio via strikes and reached the finals.
Rodriguez made his official UFC debut in November 2014 at UFC 180, and fought against Leonardo Morales to win The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight finals via unanimous decision.
In UFC 188, Yair participated in his second fight against Charles Rosa which he won via split decision. Rodriguez also received his first Fight of the Night bonus reward in this fight. In UFC 192 Rodriguez faced Dan Hooker and defeated him via another unanimous decision.
In UFC 197, Rodriguez clashed with Andre Fili and knocked him out in the second round using a jumping switch kick winning the fight as well as his first performance of the night. Yair Rodriguez later fought against Frankie Edgar in UFC 211, the fight ended in a TKO due to swelling in Yair’s left eye.
Yair Rodriguez was reportedly removed from the UFC roster in 2018 due to him allegedly declining two fights, but he later announced that the officials sorted out their differences and he was back on the roster.
Rodriguez was later expected to face Zabit Magomedsharipov in UFC 228 but he pulled out of the fight, allegedly due to an injury. Later in 2020, Rodriguez was suspended for 6 months due to him failing to show up for USADA drug testing while also keeping his whereabouts unknown.
Rodriguez’s return via a fight with Max Holloway on July 17, 2021, was once again delayed, this time due to his opponent pulling out of the fight because of an injury. The fight was later rescheduled to UFC Fight Night 197, where Rodriguez lost via unanimous decision.
Yair Rodriguez later fought Brian Ortega and won over him due to Brian suffering from a dislocated shoulder. Rodriguez even faced Josh Emmett for the Interim UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 284. Rodriguez won that fight via a triangle choke submission in the second round.
Yair Rodriguez is currently scheduled to fight the current Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 290.
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