Yair Rodriguez and his fans will have to wait longer for his return. Rodriguez has pulled out of a fight with Jean Silva, set to headline Noche UFC on Sept. 12.
Rodriguez validated recent reports about his injury in the early hours of Thursday morning. “El Pantera” claimed that he initially attempted to work through the injury before deciding it was irresponsible to see the fight through.
“I got injured. I tried to continue my preparation, but ultimately, it wasn’t responsible to compete under these conditions,” Rodriguez wrote in Spanish on Instagram. “I wanted this fight, and I know many of you did too. Now my job is to fully recover and return ready to compete at the level you expect of me and that I expect of myself.”
It’s a disappointing report from the former interim UFC featherweight champion. Rodriguez, 33, is one of mixed martial arts’ most dynamic strikers. His bent-over, back elbow knockout of “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung is maybe the most remarkable finish in MMA. Not only was the strike unheard of, but he scored it in the very last second of a fight he was losing.
Consistency has been an issue for Rodriguez in recent years, both in his performances and fight frequency. He’s averaging one fight a year since October 2019, going 4-3 in that stretch. This is another setback in a fight that was sure to deliver fireworks.
Silva is not deterred. The knockout artist is committed to seeing the date through, with the UFC expected to announce Rodriguez’s replacement.
“Never back down,” Silva wrote. “Same date, same objective.
