‘That’s How Injuries Start’- UFC Featherweight Yair Rodriguez Drops Massive Revelation Just Days Before His UFC Return

Posted on by Matt James

Top-ranked UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez spoke to MMA Junkie in Spanish and revealed his days of actively sparring are behind him. ‘El Pantera’ is just days away from facing Brian Ortega in the main event of UFC Fight Night and the winner will be in striking distance of a massive title opportunity.

Rodriguez lost his last fight in a closely contested battle against Max Holloway and Ortega was defeated at UFC 266 by Alexander Volkanovski during his effort to capture UFC gold. With both men coming off losses, this fight is imperative in determining who will go far in the UFC’s 145-pound division.

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Yair Rodriguez has put an end to sparring

Rodriguez’s revelation that he’s stopped sparring has completely taken over the headlines as this practice was popularised by his previous opponent, Max Holloway. The MMA community is divided on this matter, as many believe that sparring is essential to being competent on fight night.

However, Rodriguez believes that sparring sessions serve as a gateway for the advent of injuries.

“(I’m not sparring), and that’s something I’ve been saying for many years now. I’ve shared it with my coaches and my training partners, and I always tell them, ‘Don’t you dare touch my face. If you hit me, I’m going to hit you.’ That’s how injuries start. That’s the reason why you don’t make it to the fights, because you go in there, and you want to show off in the gym with someone else and then there are injuries.”

“So no, I’m not interested in taking hits during training. They don’t pay for that. They pay me to fight once I’m up in the cage. I try to save myself from as much impact as I can possibly have to my head.” [h/t mmajunkie.com]

Additionally, Yair Rodriguez said that he simply won’t forget the art of fighting by following through on his decision to quit sparring.

“I’ve been strengthening my body a lot more, lifting more weights, doing better conditioning in ways that don’t put too much wear on my body,” Rodriguez said. “That’s my main focus. I’m not going to forget how to fight. I have many, many years in combat sports.”

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