UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier believes Yair Rodriguez has to incorporate his kicks in order to beat featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) will attempt to unify his title with interim champ Rodriguez (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the UFC 290 headliner Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Volkanovski is yet to lose at featherweight in the octagon. Cormier raved about Volkanovski’s fight IQ and sees Rodriguez being in big trouble if he just stands and boxes with “The Great.”
“This guy is so thorough,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I’m telling you, it’s the fight IQ, coupled with the ability that makes this guy so great. This guy’s doing like, calculus, and we’re talking about Max Holloway, who is tremendous, he’s the best. Max is the best and then Alexander Volkanovski by fight No. 3 has really figured out the puzzle to put himself so far ahead. You very rarely get a guy that’s shorter that possesses that type of countering ability.
“Yair Rodriguez is going to have to do something different this weekend because if he forces and he goes forward too much, he’s going to find himself in trouble. He’s got to use his kicks like he did against Josh Emmett. It can’t be the hands that is going to save Yair Rodriguez. If he tries to do it with the hands, he’s going to get eaten up like Max did in fight No. 3 by Volkanovski. He’s that good. You have got to do it with the kicks if you’re Yair Rodriguez. Problem with kicks is, Volkanovski can wrestle.”
Oddsmakers aren’t giving Rodriguez too much of a chance. According to BetMGM, Rodriguez is a +325 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the challenger would win $325. Volkanovski is -450 favorite, meaning a $450 bet would be needed on the champion to return $100 profit.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.
