In a battle between one fighter known for his boxing and another known for his kicking, Max Holloway made good use of his wrestling and ground control skills to earn a hard fought unanimous decision over Yair Rodriguez Saturday in Las Vegas. Rodriguez, a taekwondo specialist, came out strong in the first round targeting Holloway's calf with round kicks the way Alexander Volkanovski did when he took the UFC featherweight title from Holloway two years ago.

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But at the end of the first Rodriguez lost his balance attempting a flying knee and went down with Holloway immediately following him to the ground to end the round on top. It was a theme that would repeat itself throughout the fight with Rodriguez's kicking heavy approach leaving him vulnerable to slips and takedowns. Holloway began to assert himself in the second round backing Rodriguez up with harder punches and again ended the round on top when Rodriguez lost balance. As the fight progressed, Rodriguez threw fewer of the calf kicks he'd used so effectively in the first round while Holloway continued to score takedowns and build up ground control time to seal the victory.