One of the most successful fighters outside of the UFC looked to shake things up at 145-pounds in Miami.
The featherweight division was on show on April 12 with several significant bouts taking place at the top of the division at UFC 314.
Following Dan Ige’s controversial win over Sean Woodson, on the main card, former Bellator star Patricio Pitbull was set to make his UFC debut against the former interim champion, Yair Rodriguez.
There was tension between Pitbull and Rodriguez in the build up to the fight with the Brazilian claiming that his opponent had turned the bout down the first time around.
Having not won a fight since 2023, there was a lot of pressure on ‘El Pantera’ as the new arrival looked to take his spot in the top five rankings.
Yair Rodriguez dominated Patricio Pitbull for three rounds to spoil his UFC debut
Yair Rodriguez returned to the win column with one of his most impressive performances inside the Octagon to date.
The fight played out as many expected it to with the former interim champion looking to use his reach advantage and kicking game to keep his opponent on the outside.
‘El Pantera’ found plenty of success with this approach throughout the first two rounds with Patricio Pitbull struggling to close the gap on Rodriguez outside of a few strikes and grappling exchanges.
The debuting Brazilian needed a big third round to make the fight more competitive but it was very much more of the same in the final stanza.
Rodriguez landed the biggest shot of the fight in the third to drop Pitbull before landing some huge strikes from the top to really put a stamp on a dominant performance from the Mexican.
At 37-years-old, Pitbull didn’t seem to have an answer for the incredibly unique and difficult style of Rodriguez who continues to improve after spending over a decade in the UFC.
As expected, Rodriguez took the fight via a unanimous decision with scorecards of 30-27 across the board, setting him up for even bigger things next time out.
Fight fans showered the dynamic striker with glowing praise before the division crowned a new champion later on in the night.
“Yair Rodriguez looks like a possible next champ,” wrote one user with many calling his performance a flawless display. “Yair Rodriguez with a master class performance tonight.”
Yair Rodriguez claims that he’s been promised a featherweight title shot
Yair Rodriguez stated in his post-fight interview that he had been told by Hunter Campbell that a win would earn him a shot at the featherweight title.
The reaction from fight fans on social media wasn’t all positive despite his impressive performance because it’s his first win since 2023, not to mention other deserving contenders like Movsar Evloev.
Rodriguez getting the shot would make a lot of sense for UFC Noche in Guadalajara in September, especially if it means settling the feud with Diego Lopes but the Brazilian has already stated that a rematch with Evloev would be his priority as champion.
Rodriguez is incredibly entertaining but it would seem like, despite what he’s been told, he would need back-to-back wins to get another shot at UFC gold.
