Elite featherweights are rumoured to face off as Arnold Allen and Yair Rodriguez look to lock horns in Mexico City.
According to sources of Combat Sports UK, the bout was originally planned for UFC 311 on January 11th, but never materialised.
Yair Rodriguez vs Arnold Allen
Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez
Despite two recent losses. Rodriguez remains one of the most exciting and creative fighters at featherweight. His dynamic striking and ability to create openings has seen him earn nine post-fight bonuses during his 15 UFC fights.
A human highlight reel. Rodriguez always brings excitement. Look no further than his final second backwards up elbow knockout of the Korean Zombie.
His crowning moment came at UFC 284 where he defeated Josh Emmett via second-round submission to gain the interim featherweight title.
Alongside exceptional striking, Rodriguez carries a ground threat, winning five career bouts via submission. However, he only has one UFC sub, which came in his UFC 284 fight.
Arnold “Almighty” Allen
Looking to fight fire with fire. Allen amassed an incredible ten-fight win streak to earn his place among the world’s finest. Recently losing to both Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev. Even in defeat, Allen proved his well-rounded skill set and ability to compete with the best.
His loss to Evloev could even be disputed due to a potentially incorrect call of an illegal strike. Regardless, Allen bounced back last time out decisively dispatching striking-specialist Giga Chikadze.
Allen’s strength lies in his ability to compete in all facets of MMA. With 20 wins, seven have come via knockout, four via submission and nine via decision.
His greatest moment in the octagon arguably came when he threw caution to the wind and blitzed the now sixth-ranked lightweight Dan Hooker. TKOing the Hangman in the very first round.
Head to Head
Both are huge fan favourites due to their fighting styles and proud representation of their respective nations.
With a total 24 finishes between them and a combined 15 knockouts, the UFC matchmakers have delivered an excellent fight.
Allen is yet to be finished in his 23-fight career, and of the five losses Rodriguez has suffered only one has come via decision.
Each has fought three times since the start of 2023, with both going 1-2 during this time. Allen made two appearances last year, with Rodriguez making his sole 2024 walk in February.
A big win for either man could see them become front-runners to challenge current featherweight king Ilia Topuria.
UFC Mexico City Card
Flyweight – Brandon Moreno vs. Steve Erceg
Middleweight – Joe Pyfer vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Lightweight – Drew Dober vs. Manuel Torres
Lightweight – Daniel Zellhuber vs. Elves Brener
Flyweight – Edgar Chairez vs. CJ Vergara
Flyweight – Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Kevin Borjas
Bantamweight – Saimon Oliveira vs. David Martinez
Women’s Strawweight – Loopy Godinez vs. Julia Polastri
Lightweight – Rafa Garcia vs. Joaquim Silva
Middleweight – Jose Medina vs. Ateba Gautier
Would you like to see Arnold Allen vs Yair Rodriguez added to the card?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
