'He moves like a boxer and then he turns elbows. 'His boxing is pretty good,' Holloway said. When the final bell rang, the two men could do nothing but give the other their due respect. Rodriguez came back fresh in the fifth with more kicks and a spinning elbow that cut Holloway above his right eye. In the fourth, Holloway was in control on the feet and landed a takedown from which he landed ground and pound. Rodriguez slipped in the third round and Holloway gained solid positions on the ground, going for several submission attempts and landing with a ground-and-pound attack. In the second round, Holloway gained some momentum, putting forth more combinations with his hands and going to the body with punches.

Holloway countered with his volume boxing, but Rodriguez landed some big punches of his own. His lightning-fast kicks gave Holloway fits the entire fight and in the first he was landing them to the calf and to the body - plus a big front kick to Holloway's face. Rodriguez, coming off a layoff of more than two years, was ready right from the start. He mentioned a possible title fight at lightweight, another shot at the man who took the featherweight title from him in Alexander Volkanovski, and even being on 'the short list' for a fight against Conor McGregor, who beat Holloway in 2013. 'Īfterward, Holloway was noncommittal about what he wants next. 'Max is an amazing fighter,' Rodriguez said. 9 in the world in its pound-for-pound MMA rankings. Holloway is arguably the best featherweight in UFC history, holding the 145-pound title from 2017 to 2019 with three title defenses. 'It was one of the best fights I've ever seen.' Holloway is the only fighter in history to have 25 UFC fights and never get knocked down. His 2,848 significant strikes are also a UFC record. Holloway landed 251 total strikes, becoming the first fighter to eclipse 3,000 total strikes in a UFC career. The 389 combined significant strikes are the third largest total in a single fight in UFC history - and Holloway has been involved in each of the top four highest totals, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Holloway outlanded Rodriguez in significant strikes 230-159, per UFC stats. 'If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best - and the best is 'Blessed,' baby,' Holloway said in his postfight interview.īoth fighters were taken to a hospital after the fight. Rodriguez pushed Holloway to the brink, rallying with an elbow that cut Holloway in the fifth round.

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