MIAMI – Expect Mexico’s Yair Rodriguez to have a Dagestani touch on his return to the octagon.
“El Pantera,” who fights this Saturday on the main card of UFC 314 (ESPN+ pay-per-view) at Kaseya Center, promises to show a much more versatile and complete game, as he faces former Bellator champion Patricio Freire. It’s no secret that Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) has needed to polish his wrestling attribute, and he says that was the focus ahead of this fight.
“That’s right, I’ve made a lot of changes,” Rodriguez told MMA Junkie in Spanish at the UFC 314 media day on Wednesday. “The thing Islam says, ‘Send him two, three years to Dagestan and forget,’ well, my coach is from Dagestan. He’s been for some time training at VFS with my coach. He’s the head coach of wrestling, and he was a world champion. He’s also friends with Islam and Khabib and all those guys.
