Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Rodriguez

Saturday’s action wraps in the featherweight division, as former champ Max Holloway squares off with Mexican standout Yair Rodriguez in a highly anticipated clash that was initially scheduled to take place in the summer.

Holloway, who was forced out of that July date due to an injury, began the year with a breathtaking performance opposite Calvin Kattar, putting on a boxing clinic while earning a unanimous decision victory. A high volume striker with sharp technique and toughness for days, the Hawaiian superstar is still the top contender in the featherweight division, and will likely set his sights on another date with current titleholder Alexander Volkanovski should he secure a victory this Saturday.

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It’s been a little over two years since Rodriguez last stepped into the Octagon, with a scuttled bout against Zabit Magomedsharipov and this summer’s delay combining with a six-month suspension to keep the ultra-talented contender on the sidelines. Because he has fought so infrequently over the last five years, making just three appearances since his UFC 211 loss to Frankie Edgar, it’s easy to forget that Rodriguez is a dynamic, explosive striker with elite potential, but he’ll look to remind everyone of that this weekend.

Just a couple months removed from Volkanovski retaining his featherweight title at UFC 266 and with no one else in line to challenge for the throne at the moment, this clash between the Nos. 1 and 3-ranked fighters in the division could very well determine who gets the next crack at the Australian champion. Even if there isn’t a title shot on the line officially, this should be an outstanding clash between two ultra-talented strikers that like to put on a show.

Ben Rothwell vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima

Heavyweights occupy the co-main event position this weekend as Ben Rothwell and Marcos Rogerio de Lima look to build on impressive victories from earlier this year.

“Big Ben” got back in the win column with a second-round guillotine choke victory over Chris Barnett in May, leaving him one victory shy of 40 wins for his career and sending him into the Octagon on a nice little 3-1 run over his last four fights. The veteran from Wisconsin has been a staple in the division for well over a decade and remains a complete and dangerous presence for anyone with Top 10 ambitions to encounter on their way up the heavyweight ladder.

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The 36-year-old de Lima has alternated wins and losses over his last 11 appearances, including going 3-2 since returning to the heavyweight ranks. Heavy-handed, but brandishing a solid submission game as well, “Pezao” will look to usurp Rothwell’s place in the divisional hierarchy by breaking from his pattern and picking up a second consecutive victory on Saturday.

Will Rothwell notch win No. 40 or will de Lima earn back-to-back wins for the first time since the outset of his UFC career?

Felicia Spencer vs. Leah Letson

Felicia Spencer looks to snap a two-fight skid, while Leah Letson finally makes her sophomore appearance inside the Octagon this weekend as the women square off in featherweight action.

Spencer returned to the cage following her championship loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 250 earlier this year, landing on the wrong side of a split decision verdict against short-notice replacement Norma Dumont. Now just 2-3 in the UFC after arriving with an unblemished record, the 30-year-old looks to get back to the dominant form that produced stoppage victories over Pam Sorenson, Megan Anderson, and Zarah Fairn earlier in her career when she crosses the threshold for the second time in 2021 this weekend.

View The Entire UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Rodroguiez

Sidelined for the last three years due to myriad health issues, Letson is an intriguing addition to the featherweight ranks, having advanced to the semifinals on Season 28 of The Ultimate Fighter before losing to eventual winner Macy Chiasson. The U.S. Air Force veteran earned a split decision win over Julija Stoliarenko at the finale, so it will be interesting to see what she can bring to the table following such an extended absence.

A victory for either woman vaults them into the thick of the title chase, which means both should come out looking to make a statement once the cage door closes on Saturday night.

Philipe Lins vs. Ovince Saint Preux

Fighters on two-fight skids and coming off knockout losses to Tanner Boser meet here, as Brazil’s Philipe Lins continues his quest to claim his first UFC victory against promotional stalwart Ovince Saint Preux.

Lins arrived in the UFC last year on a four-fight winning streak, having earned stoppages in each of those contests. But after a decision loss to Andrei Arlovski, the 36-year-old hustled back into the Octagon six weeks later and was knocked out by Boser. Now, after being a late scratch from a pair of bookings with Ben Rothwell earlier in the year, Lins hopes to finally return to action and collect his first UFC win on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

A Top 15 fixture at light heavyweight for much of his career, “OSP” has spent the last couple years bouncing between weight classes, taking his skills wherever they’re needed in order to remain active. While victories have been fewer and farther between as of late, the Knoxville native remains a tricky assignment for anyone given his awkward style, proven power, and proficiency with the Von Preux choke.

Can Lins break into the win column or will Saint Preux snap out of his mini-slide at the Brazilian’s expense?

Kyle Daukaus vs. Roman Dolidze

Talented middleweights meet in this short-notice pairing as Kyle Daukaus squares off with Roman Dolidze, who steps in for the injured Kevin Holland.

After closing out his first year on the UFC roster with a unanimous decision win last November, Daukaus has endured a strange sophomore campaign comprised of fight cancellations, a loss to Phil Hawes, and a no contest verdict six weeks ago opposite Holland. The duo was scheduled to run it back here, but when Holland was forced out, Daukaus opted to stay on the card, face Dolidze and look to secure another November triumph.

Dolidze carries a 9-1 record into his fourth UFC appearance, looking to build off his first middleweight victory back in June. The 33-year-old Georgian got a lot of heat for the way he approached his fight with Laureano Staropoli, grinding the Argentine out, but it was a sound, tactical win, and now he gets the opportunity to catapult himself into the thick of the divisional chase with a short-notice assignment against the promising Daukaus.

This should be an interesting clash as both men are excellent grapplers, with Philadelphia’s Daukaus showing greater focus on chasing submissions and Dolidze preferring to work for control. Whoever is able to dictate the terms of engagement and control the placement of this fight should emerge with their hand raised in victory on Saturday night. 

Song Yadong vs. Julio Arce

Bantamweights looking to cement their place in the Top 15 battle it out in this quality pairing as Song Yadong takes on Queens, New York representative Julio Arce.

Song opened his UFC career with a six-fight unbeaten streak that carried him into the rankings and stamped him as one to watch in the talent-rich 135-pound ranks. After having that impressive run snapped in March by Kyler Phillips, the Team Alpha Male representative rebounded with a hard-fought, split decision victory over Casey Kenney in August.

Arce ended an extended hiatus with a return to the bantamweight ranks in July, registering a second-round stoppage win over Andre Ewell. The Team Tiger Schulmann representative was a standout on the rugged East Coast regional circuit prior to arriving in the UFC, and has proven himself to be a perennial tough out since, building a 4-2 record across two divisions while earning finishes in each of his last three victories.

The bantamweight division is flush with talent and firing on all cylinders at the moment, so every matchup carries incredible significance as these athletes look to stake a claim to their place in the hierarchy. This is an outstanding pairing that should provide a little more clarity as to where each man fits within the pecking order, and positions the winner for a step up in competition when the 2022 campaign begins.

Thiago Moises vs. Joel Alvarez

It’s a meeting between outstanding lightweights in the last preliminary card bout of the evening as Thiago Moises welcomes Joel Alvarez into the Octagon for the first time in 2021.

Moises pushed his winning streak to three and earned a place in the Top 15 with a unanimous decision win over Alexander Hernandez at the end of February. That victory also secured him a main event assignment opposite Islam Makhachev in July, where the talented Brazilian battled hard, but was ultimately submitted in the fourth round by the surging championship contender.

Spain’s Alvarez quietly had a breakout campaign in the second half of 2020, earning consecutive first-round submission wins over Joseph Duffy and Alexander Yakovlev to extend his winning streak to three and his record to 18-2. Finally making his first start of 2021 after being forced out of a scheduled bout in May, the 28-year-old will look to make his case for joining the Top 15 when he steps in against Moises this weekend.

There have been a ton of high profile lightweight pairings that have hit the Octagon in recent weeks, but this is a low-key gem that shouldn’t be overlooked. 

Cynthia Calvillo vs. Andrea Lee

Cynthia Calvillo and Andrea Lee meet in this battle between talented flyweight jockeying for position in the 125-pound rankings.

Calvillo arrived in the division on a three-fight unbeaten streak and promptly earned a unanimous decision win over former title challenger Jessica Eye to establish herself as someone to watch. Since then, however, the 34-year-old has suffered back-to-back losses, most recently incurring a first-round stoppage defeat at the hands of Jessica Andrade at UFC 266 in September.

Lee won three straight to begin her UFC tenure, pushing her overall winning streak to seven, before dropping competitive decisions to future title challengers Joanne Calderwood and Lauren Murphy, and veteran contender Roxanne Modafferi. She snapped out of that funk with a second-round submission win over Antonina Shevchenko earlier this year, and looks to return to the Top 10 by toppling Calvillo on Saturday.

The dominance of champion Valentina Shevchenko means there are always opportunities for fighters like Calvillo and Lee to string together a couple quality wins and land in title contention, so it will be interesting to see which one of them can close out their year with an impressive victory this weekend in Las Vegas.

Miguel Baeza vs. Khaos Williams

Sound the klaxon because we’ve got a banger alert in the welterweight division as finishers Miguel Baeza and Khaos Williams clash in what should be an explosive affair on Saturday’s prelims.

Baeza has collected a bonus in each of his last three UFC appearances, but enters off his first professional loss, having dropped a unanimous decision to Santiago Ponzinibbio in a clash that won Fight of the Night honors back in June. Before that, “Caramel Thunder” collected stoppage wins over Hector Aldana, Matt Brown, and Takeshi Sato to position himself as one of the top emerging talents in the 170-pound weight class.

A dynamite-fisted Michigan native, Williams burst on the scene in 2020 with consecutive hellacious knockouts of Alex Morono and Abdul Razak Alhassan that took a combined 57 seconds. He’s surprisingly gone the distance in each of his last two outings, most recently out-hustling Matthew Semelsberger in June, but this pairing with Baeza feels primed to pull the aggressiveness and nastiness out of Williams on Saturday night.

There is a very good chance that this one finishes inside the distance and ends with a highlight reel stoppage, but even if that isn’t the case, this should be an entertaining battle between two names worth tracking in the always-competitive welterweight ranks.

Sean Woodson vs. Collin Anglin

Dana White’s Contender Series alums Sean Woodson and Collin Anglin meet in this featherweight pairing where the former is looking to secure another victory, while the remains in search of his first UFC win.

Woodson is gigantic for the featherweight division, standing six-foot-two and brandishing a 78-inch reach, which gives him the ability to work from range and connect with force at a distance most of his opponents aren’t used to dealing with. He rebounded from the first loss of his professional career with a split decision victory over Youssef Zalal in June and looks to keep things moving in the right direction when he steps in with Anglin here.

A member of the 2020 graduating class on the Contender Series, Anglin dropped his promotional debut to Melsik Baghdasaryan in July, struggling to deal with the striker’s speed and succumbing to his power a shade under two minutes into the second round. Anglin had won seven straight ahead of his debut and the Factory X Muay Thai representative will look to get back to that form when he squares off with Woodson on Saturday.

Will Woodson secure his third win in four starts or can Anglin break into the win column?

Cortney Casey vs. Liana Jojua

The first of three clashes on the women’s side of the roster takes place in the flyweight division, as Cortney Casey and Liana Jojua finally lock up after having their initial pairing in August delayed.

Casey is one of the prime examples of why you shouldn’t judge a fighter solely by their record, as the veteran carries a 9-9 record into this one, having landed on the wrong side of a handful of questionable split decision verdicts along the way. Last time out, most believed she’d done enough to defeat JJ Aldrich, but two of the three judges thought otherwise, meaning the MMA Lab representative heads into this one on a two-fight slide, hell-bent on leaving no doubt she’s the superior fighter.

Cortney Casey Is Focused On Fighting Her Fight

The 26-year-old Jojua is just three fights into her UFC tenure and 1-1 through her first two appearances at flyweight. After securing a first-round submission win over Diana Belbita in her divisional debut, the Georgian prospect had her fight with Miranda Maverick halted after the first round due to a cut on the bridge of her nose that would not stop bleeding. Now training out of Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, it will be interesting to see how much the “She Wolf” has progressed over the last year when she makes the walk this weekend.

Marc Diakiese vs. Rafael Alves

Originally slated to face off in September, lightweights Marc Diakiese and Rafael Alves instead share the Octagon this weekend in what promises to be an entertaining matchup in the 155-pound weight class.

It’s been peaks and valleys for Diakiese through his first nine UFC starts, as a three-fight skid followed a three-fight winning streak, before a tidy two-fight run of success was chased by a loss to Rafael Fiziev last time out. The 28-year-old has only lost to quality competition and has been working with the crew at Allstars Training Center in Stockholm in preparation for his return this weekend.

It’s been a rough year for Alves, who earned his UFC contract with a dynamite performance on Dana White’s Contender Series last summer. After missing with for his promotional debut by a considerable amount, “The Turn” moved up to lightweight and dropped a decision to Damir Ismagulov in May.

This has the potential to be an explosive affair early in the evening, as Diakiese is a dynamic athlete who has continued to add to his MMA arsenal, while Alves is a proven finisher in dire need of a strong showing.

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Da-un Jung

Surging light heavyweight prospects get the opening assignment of the weekend, as Kennedy Nzechukwu looks for his third finish of 2021 against Da-un Jung, who looks to maintain his unbeaten record inside the Octagon.

One of the numerous Fortis MMA representatives to graduate to the UFC via the Contender Series, Nzechukwu missed all of 2020 with a knee injury, but has made up for lost time so far this year, registering back-to-back blistering finishes of Carlos Ulberg and Danilo Marques to extend his winning streak to three. The indefatigable “African Savage” is 9-1 overall with his lone setback coming in the waning moments of his promotional debut against Paul Craig, which should tell you what kind of upside the heavy-hitting 29-year-old possesses.

Unbeaten in four UFC starts and 14 appearances overall, Jung returns for the first time since securing a unanimous decision victory over William Knight in April, where he showcased his well-rounded skill set in out-wrestling the powerful striker. The 27-year-old has fought at heavyweight in the past and showed both keen finishing instincts and unquestioned toughness throughout his first two years on the UFC roster, and a victory on Saturday could catapult him into the conversation as one of the top up-and-coming talents in the division.

Both Nzechukwu and Jung are on the cusp of cracking the Top 15 and flashed a wealth of potential to this point in their respective careers. This is an outstanding matchup and a tremendous opener, so be sure to be settled in when the action gets underway on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.