UFC Vegas 42 Results: Max Holloway defeats Yair Rodriguez (Highlights)

Today’s UFC Vegas 42 event is headlined by a key featherweight fight featuring former champ Max Holloway taking on Yair Rodriguez.

Holloway (22-6 MMA) is returning to action for the first time since laying a beating on Calvin Kattar back in January. The former UFC featherweight champion has gone 2-3 over his past five fights overall.

Meanwhile, Yair Rodriguez (13-2 MMA) will be ending a two-year hiatus at UFC Vegas 42. ‘El Pantera’ last competed in October of 2019, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over veteran Jeremy Stephens.

Round one of today’s main event begins and Yair Rodriguez lands a calf kick. Max Holloway connects with a right hand over the top. ‘ El Pantera’ answers with a front kick up the middle. He presses forward and lands another. ‘Blessed’ returns fire with a low kick. Both men with heavy low kicks now. Holloway goes to the body with a pair of hooks. Rodriguez answers with a hard inside low kick. Max with a nice jab.  He lands a low kick. Yair answers with a beautiful combination. The former champ connects with a double jab. Yair Rodriguez cracks him with a hard low kick. ‘Blessed’ goes to the body with a kick but eats another hard low kick to his lead leg. Pantera is chopping down on that leg. He lands a pair of good kicks and then a right hand. Max Holloways answers with a big right hand. That appeared to stun the Mexican. Yair circles and then lands a low kick. He continues to move forward and connects with a pair of kicks. Rodriguez takes the back of Holloway from the clinch and looks to drag the fight to the canvas. Holloway scores a trip in the final seconds and takes top position before the horn sounds to end round one.

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Round two of the UFC Vegas 42 headliner begins and the featherweight immediately begin trading kicks. Yair Rodriguez misses with a spinning back elbow. He follows that up with a right hand that lands. He is off to an excellent start in this fight. Max Holloway looks to close the distance. Yair catches him with a low kick but Holloway counters with a nice right hand. ‘El Pantera’ appears to be slowing down a little now. Holloway seems to sense it and begins to apply further pressure. Rodriguez with a pair of low kicks and then a front kick. Max Holloway answers with a good jab and then some shots to the body. Yair continues to chop away at the Hawaiian’s lead leg. Holloway continues to press and forces the clinch. He lands a knee and then the TUF Latin American winner breaks free. The horn sounds to end round two.

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Round three of the UFC Vegas 42 main event begins and Max Holloway quickly takes the center of the Octagon. He comes forward with a flurry and tags Yair Rodriguez with a left hand and then a flying knee. ‘El Pantera’ circles and then lands a hard low kick followed by one to the body. Holloway with a crisp jab and Yair is down. The former champ takes top position and quickly moves to full mount. He is looking for an arm-triangle. Rodriguez is defending well but is still in a world of trouble. Max transitions to his back. Yair Rodriguez is able to scramble and gets back to his feet. He lands a big combination on Max Holloway and then shoots in and scores a takedown. ‘Blessed’ immediately scrambles back up to his feet and lands a right hand. Holloway catches a Rodriguez kick and scores a late takedown. He lands a couple of elbows before the horn sounds to end round three.

Air Holloway is cleared for takeoff ✈️

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— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2021

Round four of the UFC Vegas 42 main event begins and Max Holloway looks to setup an early takedown. Yair Rodriguez defends and lands a low kick. ‘Blessed’ returns fire with a nice two-punch combination. He looks to lock-up a standing guillotine. Rodriguez escapes but winds up on his back. Some good ground and pound from Holloway here. Yair is able to scramble and get back up to his feet. Max lands an accidental eye poke and we have a brief break in the action. We restart and Yair lands a good combination to close out the round.

The fifth and final round of the UFC Vegas 42 headliner begins and Yair Rodriguez likely needs a finish. He comes out with a pair of hard kicks. Max Holloway responds with a good 1-2 combination. He forces Rodriguez against the cage and begins peppering him with punches in bunches. ‘El Pantera’ gets off the fence but ‘Blessed’ stays on him and winds up scoring another takedown. Yair is able to sweep Max and take top position. Holloway looks for an armbar but Rodriguez escapes. Back on the feet now and Yair lands a spinning elbow. Holloway replies with a big knee. He looks to land another but Yair clips him with an eye poke. We break for a brief moment and then restart. Thirty seconds remain. Yair Rodriguez with a spinning back kick. Max Holloway forces the clinch and lands one final knee. What a fight!

Official UFC Vegas 42 Result: Max Holloway def. Yair Rodriguez (49-46, 48-47 x2)

Who would you like to see Holloway fight next following his victory over Rodriguez today in Las Vegas? Share your thoughts in the comment section Penn Nation!