Fan-favorite former featherweight champion Max "Blessed" Holloway returns to the Octagon on Saturday night to face Yair Rodriguez in the headliner for UFC Fight Night 197 from the Apex Facility in Las Vegas.
On January, Holloway found a bounce-back win against Calvin Kattar in his first non-title fight since 2016. The 29-year-old had lost three of his past four fights at that point but is doing the work to re-establish himself as a contender in the division.
While Holloway hasn't been in the cage for 11 months, Rodriguez has been out for even longer. A series of injuries and a suspension for failing to notify the United States Anti-Doping Agency of his whereabouts means he last fought more than two years ago.