Some fans found it strange that Yair Rodriguez, one of UFC’s most popular Mexican fighters, wasn’t a part of Noche UFC. If things align properly, he would be an excellent replacement to fill in for UFC 307.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling took to social media on Wednesday to announce he was out of his October 5 fight with Movsar Evloev due to an injury.
The fight was canceled, but Evloev hoped the UFC would find him an opponent. I haven’t seen Rodriguez’s name mentioned as a potential replacement officially, but based on a few factors, he seems like a logical candidate to step in for Sterling.
Rodriguez was at Noche UFC and seemed happy about the promotion’s celebration of Mexican culture. However, on his Instagram account, he called the night “bittersweet.” He also said, “I hope to close the year with one more fight.”
Rodriguez has lost his last two fights to Brian Ortega and Alexander Volkanovski. However, this isn’t an ordinary two-fight losing streak. It’s a bit more respectable. In addition to losing to top-notch opposition, Rodriguez came into the fight with Volkanovski as the interim champion while Volk was the recognized champ, but he had been sidelined with an injury.
Rodriguez is currently ranked No. 4, and Evloev is No. 6. A win could elevate the undefeated Evloev into the Top 5. A victory for Rodriguez would re-position him as a more immediate title contender.
Also, Rodriguez has never been one to have a boring fight. His style is one of the more exciting ones in the sport. He hasn’t fought since February when Ortega stopped him.
There is a question as to whether he is healthy enough to compete, as you figure the UFC would have wanted to have him on the Noche UFC card.
If he is healthy and willing to step up on about two weeks notice to take this fight, it would be a strong pivot for the UFC as it keeps solid name recognition on the card. If Evloev is made to wait, Sterling did say it was possible he could be ready to fight him by December.
The UFC 310 still needs to be finalized, and that fight could land on that card.
As it stands, here is the card for UFC 307:
Main Card
- (c) Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (Light Heavyweight Championship)
- (c) Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña (Women’s Bantamweight Championship)
- José Aldo vs. Mario Bautista (Bantamweight)
- Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira (Bantamweight)
- Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley (Welterweight)
Preliminary Card
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo (Strawweight)
- Ihor Potieria vs. César Almeida (Middleweight)
- Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington (Strawweight)
- Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland (Middleweight)
- Ovince St. Preux vs. Ryan Spann (Light Heavyweight)
- Tim Means vs. Court McGee (Welterweight)
The card is still stacked if that fight is canceled and not replaced. Let’s see if Rodriguez or someone else gets the call to replace Sterling.
