Opinion: A Battle of Yo-Yos

There is a frequently repeated saying in combat sports that you're only as good as your last fight. But what if one's stock massively swings from one match to another, alternating highly impressive outings with very disappointing ones? That is, a fighter's reputation that of a yo-yo? Few fighters in all of MMA exemplify the constant rise and fall of reputation more than Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez, and this past weekend, they fought one another.

Let us first consider Rodriguez. After his sensational knockout of B.J. Penn in 2017, where practically the entire fight was a highlight, the 24-year-old Mexican dynamo became a big star and was already talked about as a serious contender for the…