Yair Rodríguez is one of the top Mexican fighters in the UFC and is somebody to watch in the Featherweight division.
Despite “El Pantera’s” defeat at UFC 290 in the Featherweight unification fight, he is still somebody to be feared. Yair Rodríguez is an impressive fighter, adept at knocking out his opponent or forcing them to tap out in a submission.
It has been a long road for Rodríguez, growing up in Mexico to become one of the top names in the UFC and one of the best Mexican fighters of all time.
The striker has a big future ahead of him and could taste championship gold again in the near future.
What age is Yair Rodríguez?
Yair Rodríguez is 32 years old and was born on October 6th 1992. He was raised in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico, where he learned taekwondo from age 8 to 13, then spent 4 years studying judo.
The Mexican fighter went on to practice numerous martial arts, including boxing, kickboxing, karate, and jiu-jitsu. This led him towards MMA when he was 17, and he made his fighting debut just one year later.
Yair Rodríguez height, weight and reach
Rodríguez stands at a height of 5 feet 11 inches, which is equivalent to 180cm.
He fights in the Featherweight division, which has a weight limit of 145lbs. For Rodríguez’s last fight against Brian Ortega at UFC Fight Night 237, he weighed in at exactly 145lbs. Sadly, Ortega beat Rodríguez in that bout.
Rodríguez has a reach of 71 inches, or 180cm.
Yair Rodríguez Instagram and X/Twitter accounts
The Mexican fighter is active on social media, posting daily on Instagram. Rodríguez posts daily photos and videos, mainly of behind-the-scenes clips of his training camps and posts promoting his upcoming fights in the UFC.
His handle on Instagram is panteraufc.
Rodríguez also has a X (formerly known as Twitter) account, although he hasn’t posted since July. The account, whose handle is also panteraufc, seems to be abandoned as of April 2025.
Yair Rodríguez MMA record
Yair Rodríguez MMA stats
| Significant Strikes Landed per Minute | 4.65 |
| Significant Striking Accuracy | 46% |
| Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute | 3.99 |
| Significant Strike Defense (the % of opponents strikes that did not land) | 52% |
| Average Takedowns Landed per 15 minutes | 0.69 |
| Takedown Accuracy | 27% |
| Takedown Defense (the % of opponents TD attempts that did not land) | 58% |
| Average Submissions Attempted per 15 minutes | 0.69 |
Yair Rodríguez net worth
According to MMASalaries, Rodríguez has an estimated net worth of $1-2 million dollars, with total fight earings throughout his career of $1,119,500.
They also report that his biggest payout was for his fight against Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight Night 139, where El Pantera reportedly earned $225,000.
Yair Rodríguez next fight
Rodríguez’s next fight is at UFC 314, where he takes on the debuting Patricio Pitbull in Miami.
Pitbull is a legend in Bellator and is considered the best fighter in the promotion’s history. While he is a novice in the UFC, the 37-year-old from Rio was a double champion in Bellator and will be a tough fight for Rodriguez.
Given his incredible success in the other MMA promotion, Pitbull will be incredibly confident to hand “El Pantera” his third defeat in a row in the UFC and adding to his own record of 36 victories in MMA.
Rodríguez also argued with Diego Lopes at the UFC 314 press conference, which could lead to a fight between the two later down the line.
Yair Rodríguez walk-out song
For his fight against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 290, “El Pantera” walked to the ring to the sound of “El Invincible” by Los Rieleros del Norte.
However, at UFC 284, Rodríguez instead utilized “El Corrido de Chihuahua”, also by Los Rieleros del Norte, as his walk-out song.
Yair Rodríguez vs. Alexander Volkanovksi
The biggest fight of Rodríguez career was at UFC 290, where he faced off with Volkanovski in a bout to decide the unified UFC Featherweight champion of the world. Rodríguez beat Josh Emmett for the interim belt at UFC 284, setting up the title unification fight.
However, the occasion was too much for the Mexican fighter. Everything that he gave to Volkanovski, the Australian gave it back to him, with interest.
Rodríguez suffered a third-round TKO against Volkanovski, just the second loss of his UFC career. He failed to become the undisputed, champion but a great performance against one of the top Featherweights in UFC history gave him lots of positives to leave with.
