Yair Rodriguez wants to absorb some of the energy left behind by Muhammad Ali and other athletes who trained at Miami’s iconic 5th Avenue gym.
Rodriguez returns to the Octagon on Saturday night to win a high-stakes scrap with promotional rookie Patricio Pitbull. This is a match where the winner can be placed in pole position for a shot at the featherweight world title later this year.
Rodriguez has hone his 305 Ali’s old stomping skills with the aim of gaining all the advantages over the former Bellator champions.
“We’re now at Muhammad Ali’s gym. He used to train,” Rodriguez is embedded in episode 2 of UFC 314. “I’m happy to be able to grab the energy from this gym. Islamic directors were telling me, so even if it’s like 1% or 10%, I’ll grab the energy from this gym as great people went through these doors. Finally, I’m one of them.
“So I’m really happy and excited to be here. I try not to get too much in my head, but it makes me feel amazing. My body looks incredible. I’m fully shaped.
Yair Rodriguez needs victory to stay relevant in the featherweight division
Rodriguez tries to snap a skid who lost two games for the first time in his career after being shortened in consecutive matches with Alexander Volkanovsky and Brian Ortega.
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Pitbull wants to show the world that he still has enough gas in the tank after spending the last 14 years of his career dominating the competition under the Bellator Banner. Pitbull won his third TKO with Jeremy Kennedy in March, bounced back from two consecutive losses against Sergio Pettis and Suzuki Chihiro.
Overall, Pitbull is 36-7 in his mixed martial arts career, with his 24 victory coming far away.