John Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
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Yair Rodriguez may have lost to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 290, but the mere existence of the fight was a crowning achievement. There he was, the interim champion of arguably the highest-skill division in the promotion, main-eventing a pay-per-view against perhaps the greatest pound-for-pound champion in the entire sport. And what had Rodriguez done to achieve this lofty position?
Well, it certainly wasn't any “accomplishment” as most fans talk about it, not in the sense of big wins. His winning streak going into UFC 290 was a mere two fights. He had been clearly defeated by Max Holloway in late 2021. Keep in mind that Arnold Allen had a recent winning streak of 10 fights in the exact same division yet couldn't get a title shot from it. Nor were Rodriguez’s two wins especially impressive. He had shown against Brian Ortega that he was still vulnerable to takedowns and staying grounded, which is exactly how Volkanovski beat him. It's just that Ortega suffered a shoulder injury at the end of the first round before the fight could really get going. A nearly 38-year-old Josh Emmett was washed-up and not necessarily an elite contender himself, having lost to Calvin Kattar in most people’s eyes a fight earlier. To be clear, Rodriguez is an excellent fighter. But so were many others in the division, including those with better accomplishments. Why then did Rodriguez get the interim title shot and then a main event against Volkanovski?
Some will argue that there were a lack of other challengers for Volkanovski, and that's partially true. However, the UFC has never had a problem with holding up divisions. So why didn't the UFC allow Volkanovski to challenge lightweight champ Islam Makhachev again or wait for rising featherweight contender Ilia Topuria? Why was Volkanovski forced to go through a grueling weight cut less than five months after his 5-round war against Makhachev, increasing the interim champion's chances?
It was because Rodriguez had wisely played hardball with the UFC. Time and again, he didn't take the promotion’s proposed fights and deals, holding out for something better. Dana White would grow exasperated and lambaste the Mexican dynamo to the press, but Rodriguez knew he had three advantages. Firstly, he is one of the most unique, exciting fighters in the entire sport. He has the best kicks in all of MMA and some of its most creative, amazing offense, including a no-look, last-second elbow against Chan Sung Jung that may well be the greatest knockout in the sport's history. He's also a star in Mexico, a lucrative market the UFC dearly wishes to exploit. And lastly, he was relatively young at the time and already a top star, being perfectly willing to sit and wait for the right opportunity. It worked! Compare his case to that of Tony Ferguson, a loyal soldier who willingly did anything and everything that the UFC asked of him and suffered for it. Would Ferguson have done better against Justin Gaethje if he didn't have to go through two enormously draining weight-cuts in three weeks while Gaethje only had to go through one, in an attempt to impress White with his readiness? Almost certainly. Would he have been injured for some of the scheduled showdowns with Khabib Nurmagomedov if he didn't accept some of the insulting, nonsensical fights the UFC gave him? Very possibly not.
Recently, I saw a graphic floating around about how Colby Covington, who will likely challenge Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight crown at an upcoming PPV, has only three wins against active UFC fighters. This is very poor reasoning. While they may be retired now, Covington's victories over Demian Maia, Robbie Lawler, Tyrone Woodley and Jorge Masvidal were big deals at the time, just like Kamaru Usman's wins over the same Maia, Masvidal twice—both of them title defenses—and Woodley (for the title) were. But even if they weren't...so what? Again, accomplishments don't matter for opportunities in the UFC, and anyone who claims otherwise is lying to you. What matters is that Covington is one of the biggest stars in the promotion, drawing people who both love and despise him. I recall talking to a casual fan who claimed to be really into the UFC. He had no clue who Brandon Moreno, the flyweight champion of the time, was. However, he couldn't wait to watch the upcoming pay-per-view where Masvidal would kick Covington's ass!
I will go one step further. Not only are accomplishments irrelevant to getting title shots and other big fight opportunities, but they also mean precious little in predicting the outcome of fights. What matters is the actual martial arts ability, for which analyzing tape is still the best indicator. One problem with accomplishments is that they don't necessarily indicate who the fighter is now. The previously mentioned Tony Ferguson has many great victories and I consider him one of the five best lightweights ever, but it doesn't matter because he is washed up now. However, one can go further. People sneered at Jiri Prochazka's lack of “accomplishments” when he debuted in the UFC. He was a moderate underdog in his debut against former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. They weren't sneering when he knocked out Oezdemir cold despite spending the whole fight with his hands down, or when he smashed Dominick Reyes, who had beaten Jon Jones in most people's eyes a couple of fights prior. Leon Edwards was another example. Readers will know he is one of my favorite fighters and I made small fortunes choosing him against Usman in both their fights. But what had he accomplished prior to that? Winning three rounds of five against a past-his-prime Donald Cerrone who was fighting a weight class above his optimal one? Barely holding on against Gunnar Nelson? Defeating an aging Nate Diaz who was never a serious welterweight contender? His best win was clearly defeating Rafael dos Anjos, an accomplishment that Michael Chiesa replicated just a few months later. But for those who actually watched the film, they knew Edwards was a great fighter who was constantly getting better. And while he didn't look flashy in victory, he was unbelievably difficult for anyone to overcome, lacking even a small weakness. That's what mattered, not the ephemeral weight of how significant his wins were. The next time you hear about “accomplishments,” use it for similarly nebulous, irrelevant concepts like “legacy.” It sure doesn't have anything to do with either the business or fighting side of MMA.