UFC featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez has been left with a nasty swollen foot following his five-round battle with Max Holloway on Saturday night.
‘El Pantera’ had been out of action for nearly two years before the bout on the weekend, with his last fight being in October 2019 against Jeremy Stephens.
However, ring rust didn’t seem to affect the #3 ranked Featherweight, who managed to go toe-to-toe with the self-proclaimed ‘best boxer in the UFC’ for 25 minutes at the Apex Arena.
Whilst the bout was scored as a unanimous decision for Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway, Rodriguez impressed fans with his cardio, boxing and ferocious leg kicks.
The Mexican completed 57 strikes to the leg, accounting for 36% of his landed significant strikes, compared to Holloway’s 35, equating to 15%.
Come the end of the fight, and Rodriguez was having to be held up by his coaches during his post-fight interview with former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping.
“First thing I’ve got to ask you about, if you look down at your foot here, that thing looks disgusting”.
“It is what it is when you’re a kicker”, Rodriguez quickly replied as the camera cut to his bulging foot.
Pictures of the bruised and swollen foot have been doing the rounds on social media, and they aren’t pretty.
‘El Pantera’ has yet to give an update on the severity of the injury, but one would imagine that this’ll take a while to heal properly.
Both Rodriguez and Holloway were quickly taken to a hospital to mend up their wounds, but not before the two had a quick chat in the back of the ambulance.
Footage shows Holloway approaching the vehicle that Rodriguez is laying in, going to shake his competitor’s foot before remembering the damage caused that evening.
Rodriguez has now been awarded Fight of the Night bonuses from his last two bouts, proving to be one of the most entertaining fighters on the roster. With any luck, we’ll see him back in the octagon early next year.