Preview: UFC 211 ‘Miocic vs. Dos Santos 2’

Featherweights

Frankie Edgar (21-5-1) vs. Yair Rodriguez (10-1)

THE MATCHUP: This one should be five rounds, too. Edgar and Rodriguez are both superbly conditioned fighters. Stamina has saved Edgar in a number of fights and allowed him to dominate a number of others. The New Jersey native pushes a fast pace, throwing machine-gun punches and mixing in clever takedowns at every opportunity. Rodriguez is nowhere near as efficient, but he has youth and athleticism on his side. Despite throwing an outrageous 343 strikes against Alex Caceres, many of which were high-flying kicks, Rodriguez hardly slowed down at all and gained a second wind midway through the five-round fight that allowed him to dominate the final frame. These men will both push a pace, and fans deserve to see them do so for 25 minutes.

Even so, three rounds between two such excellent fighters are not to be missed. This is a potential breakthrough fight for Rodriguez, who has won all six of his UFC bouts so far, most of them in dazzling fashion and two of them via violent finish. Rodriguez’s top-notch athleticism allows him to utilize a style that would leave most men gasping after a single round. He specializes in kicks of every shape and form. Wheel kicks, flying roundhouses, piercing front kicks: Nothing is off the table as far as Rodriguez’s limber legs are concerned. His boxing, on the other hand, is still a work in progress. Though Rodriguez has improved his footwork and distance management, he lacks the tight angles and short steps necessary to stymie an elite opponent, relying instead on long, loping strides and leaps. In the pocket, he shows some promise with head movement and accurate punches, but his form is sloppy and his defense is improvised rather than systematic.

Edgar, on the other hand, is nothing if not systematic. He has made improvements of his own in recent years -- no small feat for a 35-year-old fighter who has been competing since 2005. Edgar has become more comfortable in the pocket, where his keen eyes enable him to pick off shots with his gloves and roll under for clean counterpunches and takedowns. His footwork, too, is more efficient than ever before. Edgar once moved the way Rodriguez does, his feet doing a great deal of work for a relatively small reward. Now, he takes small steps and cuts cute angles, making him both harder to hit and harder to avoid. These changes are likely the result of Edgar’s age and the wear and tear he has absorbed over the course of his career. It is likely that Edgar cannot bounce around the way he used to, and the speed that once allowed him to cover distance in a blink seems to be fading. It is a testament to Edgar’s intelligence and experience that he has managed to negate these disadvantages by improving his technique, becoming a better fighter as a result.

One thing that makes Edgar such an excellent fighter is his phase-shifting. Though he is an excellent wrestler, Edgar frequently throws away takedown attempts in the opening minutes of a bout, shooting half-hearted singles and threatening -- but not completing -- his trademark knee taps. The goal is to set up his strikes, and Edgar excels at transitioning from takedowns to punches and landing short shots in the clinch. In turn, these strikes allow him to complete takedowns with little resistance. Everything Edgar does is built on what he has done before. He fights as if following an endless flowchart, building every victory piece by piece. If Edgar does manage to get Rodriguez down, he will have to contend with a wily scrambler and potent submission grappler. With that said, “The Answer” is the featherweight division’s best top-control grappler, and since dropping to 145 pounds, he has begun scoring serious damage with strikes on the ground.

THE ODDS: Edgar (-128), Rodriguez (+108)

THE PICK: This fight will come down to control of distance. Rodriguez prefers to set a long range, and Edgar cannot afford to let him do so. Rodriguez is five inches taller and will have three extra inches of reach on the former lightweight champ. Oddly enough, though Edgar made his name at 155 pounds, Rodriguez will be the tallest fighter he has ever faced in the UFC. If Edgar can pressure and force the takedowns and pocket exchanges, he can test Rodriguez like no one before. Pressure has never been Edgar’s strong suit, however, and Rodriguez’s outstanding athletic abilities will make the task very difficult. This would be the biggest win of Rodriguez’s young career, but if he can prevent wrestling range, keep the output high and rack up points from the outside, this is his fight to lose. Those are some big ifs, but the pick is Rodriguez by unanimous decision.

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