{"id":862291,"date":"2026-08-20T18:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/862291\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T18:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:22:12","slug":"ex-ufc-champion-reveals-cause-for-withdrawal-from-noche-ufc-main-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/862291\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-UFC Champion Reveals Cause for Withdrawal From Noche UFC Main Event"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5k\">Former UFC titleholder Yair Rodriguez has shared an update with fans following his unexpected withdrawal from Noche UFC.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5n\">Scheduled for September 12 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, this year\u2019s Noche UFC features several former UFC champions and some of the promotion\u2019s biggest names from Mexico. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5q\">Rodriguez was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-confirms-massive-main-event-noche-ufc-4-fight-card\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">scheduled to headline the event opposite Jean Silva <\/a>in a massive fight for the featherweight title picture, but unfortunately \u201cEl Pantera\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/noche-ufc-new-main-event-fight-after-losing-ex-ufc-champion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">was forced off the card and has been replaced by Jose Delgado<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Yair Rodriguez Reveals Injury Caused Noche UFC Pullout<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5w\">A specific reason for Rodriguez\u2019s withdrawal wasn\u2019t provided when the news initially broke, but the former UFC titleholder later took to Instagram to reveal that he\u2019d suffered an injury during training. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"63\">\u201cI got injured. I tried to continue my preparation, but ultimately, it wasn&#8217;t responsible to compete under these conditions. I wanted this fight, and I know many of you did too. Now my job is to fully recover and return ready to compete at the level you expect of me\u2014and that I expect of myself. Thank you to everyone who continues to support me. See you soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01m0fz2vf3mjp77wq6wg.jpg\" alt=\"Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) fights against Patricio Pitbull (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center.\" title=\"Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) fights against Patricio Pitbull (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center.\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6d\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) fights against Patricio Pitbull (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">Fans haven\u2019t seen Rodriguez in action since UFC 314, where \u201cEl Pantera\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/yair-rodriguez-spoils-debut-bellator-legend-patricio-pitbull-ufc-314\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">welcomed former Bellator star Patricio Pitbull to the UFC <\/a>and defeated the Brazilian via unanimous decision. <\/p>\n<p>Former Interim UFC Champion Currently Absent from Featherweight Rankings<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6n\">This year\u2019s Noche UFC still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-champion-looks-to-snap-losing-run-massive-noche-ufc-fight-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">features two former UFC titleholder from Mexico in Alexa Grasso and Brandon Moreno<\/a>, but Rodriguez\u2019s withdrawal will unfortunately extend the 33-year-old\u2019s streak of never competing on a Noche UFC card. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6q\">Winner of Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America, Rodriguez went on an undefeated run to<br \/>begin his UFC career before being stopped by UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar at UFC 211. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01m0fz3zrtmr8hy7425w.jpg\" alt=\"Yair Rodriguez (blue gloves)  prior to the fight against Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) during UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena.\" title=\"Yair Rodriguez (blue gloves)  prior to the fight against Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) during UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena.\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"70\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Yair Rodriguez (blue gloves)  prior to the fight against Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) during UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"74\">Following a loss to former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway in 2021, Rodriguez defeated Brian Ortega and submitted Josh Emmett at UFC 284 to claim the interim UFC featherweight belt. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01m0fz4v882q1ypxvsz5.jpg\" alt=\"Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Josh Emmett (not pictured) to win the interim featherweight championsh\" title=\"Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Josh Emmett (not pictured) to win the interim featherweight championsh\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7e\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Josh Emmett (not pictured) to win the interim featherweight championship during UFC 284 at RAC Arena. | USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7i\">\u00a0\u201cEl Pantera\u201d was stopped by Alexander Volkanovski in their title unification fight before Ortega submitted them in their rematch, and he\u2019s currently unranked in the Meta UFC Top 15 after his most recent appearance against Pitbull. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01m0fz5qrk2ncv5g184s.jpg\" alt=\"Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) fights against Patricio Pitbull (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center.\" title=\"Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) fights against Patricio Pitbull (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center.\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7s\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) fights against Patricio Pitbull (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7w\">Rodriguez will hopefully be able to return before the end of the year, but for now Noche UFC 4 is set to proceed with a new main event between Silva and Delgado that tops what is currently a 13-fight card. <\/p>\n<p>Noche UFC 4 Fight Card<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"82\">Main Event: Jean Silva vs. Jose Delgado<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-20\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"85\">Manon Fiorot vs. Alexa Grasso <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"88\">Brandon Moreno vs. Joseph Morales<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-22\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8b\">Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Curtis Blaydes<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-23\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8e\">Tim Elliott vs. Edgar Chairez<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-24\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8h\">David Martinez vs. Dan Ige<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-25\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8k\">JJ Aldrich vs. Regina Tarin<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-26\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8n\">Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Muslim Salikhov<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-27\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8q\">Drakkar Klose vs. Tommy Gantt<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-28\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8t\">Tommy McMillen vs. Marwan Rahiki<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-29\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8w\">Rafa Garcia vs. Rongzhu<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-30\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8z\">Rodrigo Vera vs. Ramiro Jimenez<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-31\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"92\">Yousri Belgaroui vs. Djorden Santos <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former UFC titleholder Yair Rodriguez has shared an update with fans following his unexpected withdrawal from Noche UFC.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-862291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}