Less than a month after the fight was announced, no. 1 contender Max Holloway has pulled out of his July 17 main event against no. 3 ranked contender Yair Rodriguez due to an injury, according to a report by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
Holloway (22-6) is coming off of arguably the most impressive victory of his career after he defeated Calvin Kattar on UFC on ABC in Jan. 2021.
Holloway broke nine different in-fight striking records during that bout, including the record for most significant strikes landed in a fight in UFC history with 445.
Rodriguez (13-2), on the other hand, has not fought since Oct. 2019, when he defeated Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision.
This fight was supposed to serve as a title eliminator.
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The winner would have been rewarded with the opportunity to challenge the winner of the featherweight title fight between champion Alexander Volkanovski and no. 2 contender Brian Ortega after their coaching duties on “The Ultimate FIghter” wrap up.
Featherweight contenders like Edson Barboza and Giga Chikadze have volunteered to replace Holloway, according to Okamoto.
While the specifics of Holloway’s injury have not yet been disclosed nor has his timetable to return, one could easily assume he will be in the title picture whenever “Blessed” is healthy enough to return to the octagon.
Max Holloway out of July 17 bout with Yair Rodriguez
