Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez scheduled to headline UFC event in July

In a somewhat surprising bit of news, it has been announced that featherweight champion Max Holloway will square off against #3 ranked featherweight Yair Rodriguez in the main event of the UFC's planned July 17th event. ESPN reported this news, citing UFC president Dana White (who has yet to make a formal announcement).

After losing two consecutive decisions to current champion Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway got back in the win column in January at UFC on ABC 1 with one of the most dominant performances in UFC history; putting on a volume striking clinic against the dangerous Calvin Kattar.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, last fought in October 2019; a decision victory over Jeremy Stephens. In December 2020, Yair was suspended by the US anti-doping agency for six months for failing to notify them of his location. Rodriguez's last scheduled fight was for August 2020, wherein he was set to take on Zabit Magomedsharipov. However, Rodriguez withdrew from the fight citing injuries. With Magomedsharipov himself currently mulling retirement amid injury issues, the UFC has moved on from that matchup.

While Holloway vs. Rodriguez has very clear repercussions for the featherweight division, it also promises to be an entertaining bout in its own right, with Holloway's volume boxing juxtaposed against Rodriguez's flashy spinning kicks.