Featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez hailed as one of the premier rising talents at 145 pounds since he entered the UFC in 2014. UFC abruptly cut “El Pantera” from the organization after refusing to fight Zabit Magomedsharipov and Ricardo Lamas.
It looks like both Yair and UFC reconcile on the matter, as news came from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that Rodriguez verbally agrees to fight Zabit Magomedsharipov (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at September’s UFC 228 pay-per-view:
BREAKING: The Yair Rodriguez/UFC situation has apparently done a 180. Rodriguez vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov is now verbally agreed to for UFC 228 in September.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 1, 2018
I'm told UFC is rescinding its termination letter to Yair Rodriguez, essentially reinstating his contract. The Magomedsharipov fight is not signed yet, but is UFC 228 on Sept. 8. No location finalized for that event.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 1, 2018
Magomedsharipov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told MMAJunkie that showdown is likely to proceed.
“I don’t know if this is true, but if it is, I’m happy for Yair to get back where he deserves to be,” Abdelaziz said. “Zabit will fight anyone. It doesn’t matter.”
After turning the two fights, UFC president Dana White bashed Rodriguez at that time:
“The guy’s off a year, rejects a fight with Lamas, and then doesn’t want to fight a guy below him in the rankings?” White said at the time. “He can go somewhere else. We have no use for him. He calls that fight fake news. This is real news.”
The 25-year-old Mexican fighter (10-2) started negotiating with other organizations shortly after he was “released,” even drew a lucrative offer from rising promotion Combate Americas.
Yair’s six-fight win streak snapped at UFC 211 when Frankie Edgar scores a TKO win over him.
Zabit is coming off a “Fight of the Night” performance win against Kyle Bochniak at UFC 223 which earned him his eleventh straight win.
UFC 228 is set to take place on Sept. 8, most likely in Las Vegas, however, UFC officials haven’t formally announced the PPV event yet.
