UFC 314 results: Yair Rodriguez drops Patricio Pitbull, dominates ex-Bellator champ to win lopsided decision
Yair Rodriguez gave Patricio Pitbull quite a rude welcome to the octagon after winning a lopsided decision in their showdown at UFC 314.
Round after round, Rodriguez was just styling on Pitbull with a dynamic striking attack until he finally scored a late knockdown that nearly led to a finish. While Pitbull survived, he just couldn’t do any real damage and Rodriguez effectively picked him apart from the first second until the last.
When it was over, all three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Rodriguez, who got back in the win column after two straight losses in his previous pair of appearances.
“I knew he was going to be tough,” Rodriguez said after his win. “I wanted to finish him in the first round. I had a good technique prepared for that but he was prepared. All the respect to Patricio Pitbull on his journey in the UFC. Let’s do for Mexico, September, Guadalajara, I want to fight for the title there.”
Using his length and reach advantage, Rodriguez was launching shots from the outside while Pitbull didn’t really respond but he’s often been known as a bit of a slow starter. While Rodriguez was picking his shots, he was also wary not to overextend because Pitbull possesses such devastating power.
A head kick from Rodriguez reverberated off Pitbull’s head but the Brazilian just smiled and invited the former title challenger to come forward. While Pitbull did catch a late kick for a takedown, not much happened before time expired in the opening round.
Pitbull finally came alive when he slammed home a stiff left hand that snapped Rodriguez’s head backwards and got his attention. While it was a good punch, that didn’t deter Rodriguez was continuing to throw a variety of kicks with Pitbull still struggling to find a way inside.
With five minutes remaining and Pitbull in need of a finish, Rodriguez was still focusing on his kicks and showing no real fear of reprisal. Pitbull was forced to get more aggressive but that backfired after Rodriguez blasted him with a huge punch that dropped the former Bellator champion.
Rodriguez continued chipping away at him with a series of brutal punches and elbows on the ground as Pitbull desperately tried to survive. To his credit, Pitbull went for an armbar from the bottom that nearly connected but Rodriguez resisted before slipping free.
As time ran out, Rodriguez was still cracking away at Pitbull before celebrating his latest performance with a dominant showcase against arguably the greatest Bellator fighter of all time.
With that win, Rodriguez is hoping that he can parlay the goodwill into a title shot when the UFC returns to Mexico in September, although a lot of moving pieces have to fall in to place for that to happen after a 1-2 run in his past three fights.