Bantamweight
Rani Yahya (26-10-1, 11-4-1 UFC) vs. Ray Rodriguez (16-7, 0-1 UFC)This should be entertaining, which is true of most Yahya fights. It is stunning to see that Yahya is just 36 years old. He was already a wily veteran heading into his UFC debut all the way back in 2011, and he has essentially felt like a 36-year-old for the past decade. Despite some dalliances with striking, Yahya has always been best known for his grappling acumen, and that is as true as ever. He may still drop the occasional loss to someone who can hang with him on the mat, but he has always been able to rebound by pulling his opponents into quicksand and putting together another winning streak. Once a fringe contender, Yahya has now gone somewhat under the radar thanks to inactivity. If he gets in multiple fights during 2021, it will be the first time he has done so since 2018. Here, he will take on Rodriguez, who gets his second tough draw in as many UFC fights. Rodriguez fell short against Tony Gravely on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019 but rebounded with a victory in Combate Americas and got the call as a late replacement against Brian Kelleher in September. That fight saw Rodriguez get tapped in 39 seconds, and he faces another uphill battle in this one. Rodriguez himself is best as a grappler, but he does not seem to be at the level of the craftiest veterans that the UFC has to offer. The pick is Yahya via second-round submission.
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