Teammate claims Yair Rodriguez is moving up to lightweight

[ASFN Admin]

Yair Rodriguez is apparently moving up to lightweight.

Rodriguez (20-5) and Belal Muhammad are teammates at Valle Flow Striking in Bensenville, Illinois. Muhammad recently claimed that “El Pantera” is moving up to lightweight from featherweight.

Rafael Fiziev knocked out Manuel Torres via a highlight-reel spinning back kick in front of his home fans at UFC Baku last weekend. Muhammad subsequently suggested a matchup between Fiziev and Rodriguez. When a fan noted that Rodriguez is a featherweight, Muhammad Said that the Mexican is moving up to lightweight. Muhammad also revealed that Rodriguez underwent surgery on his wrist after his last win over Patricio Freire.

Fizev and Yair would be fire— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) June 27, 2026

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Shifting Gears and Injury Recovery​

Rodriguez has had an illustrious career at featherweight, only losing to top talents like Frankie Edgar, Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. Rodriguez won the interim featherweight title against Josh Emmett in 2023 but came up short in the bid for the undisputed title against Volkanovski.

Nah Yair is moving up— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) June 27, 2026

He had surgery on his wrist after the pitbul fight— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) June 27, 2026

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