Barnburner Featherweight Clash Set For UFC 335: Yair Rodriguez vs Steve Garcia
Reportedly, Yair Rodriguez is set to fight Steve Garcia at UFC 335 on December 12.
Yair Rodriguez (20-5-0 & 1 NC in MMA) is finally stepping back into the octagon at UFC 335 to take on the equally exciting No. 14 featherweight contender Steve Garcia (19-6-0 in MMA).
Adding this fight to the already stacked UFC 335 is like icing on the cake. The card will take place in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 12.
The main event will showcase Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes as they lock horns at lightweight for the symbolic 'BMF' title. Charles will defend his 'BMF' belt against the former UFC featherweight title challenger in a fan-favorite fight. These are two of the most electric fighters in the UFC right now. Combined, they hold 28 UFC post-fight bonuses together. Charles has 21, the most in UFC history, while Deigo has 7 from his 10 UFC appearances.
In the co-main event, we got Alex Pereira continuing his heavyweight expedition as he fights Sergei Pavlovich. This top-5 heavyweight affair has a terrifying knockout written all over it, as both of them are known for their insane, uncanny knockout abilities.
Yair Rodriguez Returns To Action At UFC 335 Against Steve Garcia
The fight news was first reported by a Russian outlet named Dvoyechka MMA, and afterwards Steve Garcia also confirmed it by posting a fight poster on his Instagram featuring himself squaring off with Rodriguez. 'Mean Machine' captioned it: "We locking in for another one before the end of the year El Pantera vs Mean Machine this is must see tv"
Before moving forward, it's to be noted that UFC hasn't officially promoted this fight yet. But it is must-see TV indeed. These are two of the most exciting featherweights in the world. And on top of that, Rodriguez and Garcia are very similar on paper when it comes to their age, size, and fight record.
Yair, a former interim UFC featherweight champion, has entertained UFC fans with his flashy fight style for more than a decade. He's coming off a big victory over Bellator legend Patricio Pitbull at UFC 314 last April. That win helped him overcome a two-fight losing skid, in which he lost to Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. Right now, he's unranked due to inactivity, but a strong performance against Garcia will put him right back in the top 10.
Steve will look to bounce back from his loss to Diego Lopes at UFC Freedom 250 this past June. 'Mean Machine' was riding a 7-fight win streak in the UFC before that, which included 6 finishes. Even though he might've lost the momentum after that loss, he gets a huge opportunity to fight a big name like Rodriguez on a numbered event. If he wins, then he gets to fight one step closer to the featherweight throne.
Yair Rodriguez Has Only Fought Six Times In Last Seven Years
After Garcia disclosed the fight details with his Instagram post, the fans cleared expressed their doubt on if Yair will show up on the fight day. Yair will always be loved for his thrilling performances, but he's also built a reputation for being inconsistent.
When 'El Pantera' enters the cage on December 12, it will be 20 months since his last appearance. Yair was booked to return at UFC Noche against Jean Silva in September, but he had to withdraw due to an injury. He's also withdrawn two times when booked to fight Zabit Magomedsharipov in 2018 and 2020.
Whenever Rodriguez enters the octagon, we get to see some chaos, but we haven't seen him much lately. The 34-year-old Mexican has only fought 6 times since 2020. On the contrary, Garcia has had 12 fights in the same timeline.
No matter what, when this fight actually hits the floor at UFC 335, fans will get an all-action featherweight battle between two finishers.
