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At UFC 284, Yair Rodriguez brought himself one step closer to realizing a dream held by every mixed martial artist: capturing a UFC title. The latest obstacle that 'El Pantera' overcame was Josh Emmett, a wrestler with dynamite in his overhand right. Despite the threat posed by his foe's knockout power, Rodriguez succeeded.
In doing so, he captured the UFC interim featherweight title. Unfortunately, his division's undisputed kingpin, Alexander Volkanovski, was unsuccessful in his attempts at dethroning the lightweight titleholder, Islam Makhachev. Thus, the logical conclusion is for 'The Great' to return to featherweight.
Once he's back at 145 lbs, there is only one matchup that awaits Alexander Volkanovski: Yair Rodriguez. While 'The Great' has looked almost unbeatable as of late, there is good reason to believe that 'El Pantera' may not only trouble him but even defeat him.
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#5. Yair Rodriguez's kicks
There's no confusion regarding what Yair Rodriguez's greatest strength is. Inside the octagon, 'El Pantera' is a prolific kicker with the perfect blend of variety and speed. Against Alexander Volkanovski, his dexterity and creativity as a kicker will pay dividends.
In the interim titleholder's bout against Josh Emmett, he found great success with body kicks from a southpaw stance. Those kicks will be useful against 'The Great' given his use of an orthodox stance. This means that Rodriguez's rear leg in southpaw will align with Volkanovski's liver if the latter stands in orthodox.
Furthermore, 'El Pantera' uses side kicks that target his opponent's lead knee. Due to Volkanovski's frequent jabbing, the Australian champion often exposes his lead leg to low kicks after he steps in. Given Rodriguez's height and length, he can intercept his foe's forward movement with a crushing oblique kick to the knee.
#4. Yair Rodriguez's counter-kicks
Alexander Volkanovski is one of the most effective low-kickers in MMA. The greatest demonstration of his low-kicking skills came against Max Holloway. The legendary Hawaiian is known for building off his jab to string together his patented high-volume combinations.
To throw a good jab, fighters must extend their stance by stepping in with the punch. Unfortunately, this exposes their lead leg to low kicks. Thus, Volkanovski tends to use low kicks and calf kicks as counters against jabs. To his misfortune, however, 'El Pantera' is highly proficient at countering kicks.
Yair Rodriguez knows that his opponents intend to kick his legs to undercut his mobility. He waits for his foes to throw low kicks before countering them with front kicks and side kicks as their leg is off the mat. This enables him to get his opponents off balance when they're standing one-legged.
Not only does this dissuade his foes from trying to low-kick him, but it also leads to occasional knockdowns that create openings for ground-and-pound. Against Yair Rodriguez, Alexander Volkanovski will be at a tremendous height disadvantage. Without low kicks to help him undercut that disadvantage, he'll be far less effective.
#3. Yair Rodriguez's kick-punch combination
Kicks use the body's longest limbs: the legs. Due to this, kickers need space and time to throw kicks with significant leverage. It's for this reason that Khabib Nurmagomedov applied endless pressure against Edson Barboza when the pair squared off years ago. The Brazilian was a dangerous kicker but needed space to execute the kicks.
Against an opponent who forced him onto the backfoot by coming forward to smother his kicks, Edson Barboza was rendered ineffective. Another method of dealing with kicks is parrying them and sliding inside the kick with a counterpunch as the opponent's kicking leg is still airborne.
Yair Rodriguez is highly aware of these issues, causing him to develop a kick-punch tactic. He knows that opponents will try to pressure him the moment he misses a kick and his leg is still airborne. So after he throws a kick, he immediately throws a straight or cross to sting opponents who try to smother him.
He essentially counterpunches their counterpunch when they least expect it. Due to Alexander Volkanovski's tendency to lung forward on the inside of his opponent's kicks, he runs the risk of sprinting right into one of Yair Rodriguez's kick-punch combinations.
#2. Yair Rodriguez's creativity
There is more to winning fights than having the right game plan or a reliable way of preying on an opponent's vulnerabilities. There are certain x-factors that come into play. Oftentimes, these variables are intangible like confidence or grit. In Yair Rodriguez's case, his x-factor is his creativity.
Alexander Volkanovski is a highly skilled fighter and is often well-prepared for his opponents due to the work of his coaches at City Kickboxing. But fighters can't prepare for something they've never seen before. This was an issue that Chan Sung Jung ran into when he clashed with 'El Pantera'.
In the final seconds of their bout at UFC Fight Night 139, Yair Rodriguez landed one of the most ludicrous knockouts of all time. As 'The Korean Zombie' advanced, he ducked under his foe's punches before uncorking a rising elbow that no one saw coming. It flatlined his opponent and earned him the Knockout of the Year.
That is what Alexander Volkanovski must worry about. It's not just the known aspects of 'El Pantera's' game, but the unknown elements that he might debut on fight night. If he isn't careful, he might walk himself into a strike thrown from an angle so unusual no one else but Rodriguez would think of it.
#1. Yair Rodriguez's speed
Alexander Volkanovski's speed has become a staple of his fighting style. The reigning featherweight champion is one of the fastest fighters on the UFC roster. The effectiveness of his striking skills depends on his speed. The success he enjoyed against Max Holloway in their trilogy bout was due to his speed.
Similarly, he was able to outclass 'The Korean Zombie' largely by being much faster than him. Whether he's jabbing or exploding forward with a shifting combination, 'The Great' is often too fast for his opponents. But the speed that's made him look so good recently won't be as pronounced against 'El Pantera'.
Yair Rodriguez is also one of the fastest fighters in the promotion. He is fast enough to be capable of throwing kicks and following them up with punches before his opponents close the distance against him. How Volkanovski will fare against a fighter who can match and potentially exceed his speed remains to be seen.
