Just imagine getting ready for a fight only to find out that you have a terrible health issue. But you disregard that, and get into the fight anyway, and win. Without a doubt, it’d put you on the highest pedestal. And the same thing happened with Yair Rodriguez. Just days before his showdown against Patricio Freire at UFC 314, ‘El Pantera’ made some huge revelations about the time when he got into a horrible rut in 2018.

Yes, we’re indeed talking about the time when Rodriguez got the Performance of the Night as the Fight of the Night bonus for knocking out Chan Sung Jung in the fifth round’s final moment. Needless to say, bringing down ‘The Korean Zombie’ with that elbow was truly deserving of a standing ovation. Talking to Aaron Bronsteter before welcoming ‘Pitbull’ into the UFC, Rodriguez reflected back on the time when Donald Cerrone’s wife gave him a shock. He said, “My fight against Korean Zombie was November 10th. I know I was hospitalized November 1st. I went to the hospital because ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone’s wife, she’s a nurse, and she told me, ‘All of the symptoms you’re giving me are for an old guy, like super sick. And your skin color doesn’t look good. You don’t look good. Your lips are white. You’re fainting. And you can’t train.’” 

Of course, everyone around him began to worry, and ‘El Pantera’ had to visit the hospital. After a series of examinations, the doctors gave him a reality check. Rodriguez continued, “And after a while, my brother was right next to me, after a while doctor comes and tells me, like, ‘Hey, I have to tell you something. I need him to step out of the room.’ I was like, ‘No, he’s my brother. You can tell me anything you need to tell me in front of him.’ And yeah, I was feeling super panicked. I didn’t know what it was. They told me, ‘Okay, we think you may have cancer. We found a cyst in your liver. And it’s about that size, and it’s on top of liver.’” 

Panic struck the featherweight fighter. Having a cyst on the liver was already troublesome. And fighting with the cyst could have put him in deeper into it. MMA fighters are subject to terrible liver shots. And if fighters with a cyst in the liver get hit by a liver shot, they’d not only experience tremendous pain, but it might also be fatal. But Rodriguez seemed determined to fight his next opponent (‘The Korean Zombie’). As the doctors showed them the files for the hepatic cysts, he pulled out the scalp vein and other insertions and tried to handle the pressure he was just put into. He claimed, “All the pressure. People understand. You know, the amount of pressure an athlete can go through when you put too much attention to it.”

That was when Bronsteter remarked that the UFC even brought ‘El Pantera’ back for a fight. Yair Rodriguez went on, “So I put my mind to saying nothing can happen that is gonna put me out of this fight unless I die before the fight, or I die during the fight. There is no other option. Like, God, if you wanna take me, just take me. I don’t care anymore. I am tired of everything. So, I’m just gonna go all in. I’m not gonna listen to anybody. And I’m just gonna do it. I didn’t tell my family what I was feeling. I didn’t told anybody. Just my brother knew. And I asked all the team to not say anything. And well, the fight went like it went.” 

It was like a moment from ‘Rocky’ where Rodriguez had to push himself forward. He still had moments of weakness in the fight. But he did push through. Of course, he planned on finishing ‘The Korean Zombie’ in round 1. After all, he was sick and couldn’t even train for 2 minutes. Thankfully, the adrenaline rush ensured that he went through the pain and pull off the fight. No wonder it was his favorite fight. He said, “I could have lost the fight. Or anything could have happened. For me, it was putting myself in that cage that day, took a lot. And that that itself made me realize that this is the only thing I wanted to do in my life.” But did you know that the UFC had cut him out during this time?

Why did Dana White remove Yair Rodriguez from the UFC?

Well, Dana White doesn’t like it when fighters refuse to fight. And that’s what happened with Rodriguez, when he refused to fight Zabit Magomedsharipov. At the UFC Fight Night 130 post-fight press conference, White revealed, “We offered him fights. He turned down the fights. If you don’t want to fight, this isn’t the place to be. There’s plenty of places out there that will take Yair Rodriguez and would love to have him, and would sign him. And I’m sure he’ll have a great career. This isn’t the place for you. When I call you and offer you a fight, you should probably take it.”

But this was a time before Rodriguez got the news that he potentially had cancer. So, why didn’t he agree to fight? Well, he simply wanted a higher-ranked opponent. ‘El Pantera’ believed that he deserved someone from the top 10. Nevertheless, right now, things seem to have changed for the best. While cysts can sometimes be painful and hinder a man’s daily activities, it’s not necessary that they have to be cancerous. But the medical staff have to proceed with the assumption that it might be cancerous until proven otherwise. And thankfully, Rodriguez’s cyst turned out to be just a benign outgrowth of hepatic cells. 

With things set straight, he has fought 7 bouts following his win over ‘The Korean Zombie’. However, he has lost about 3 of them and faced a no-contest in one. Coming out of a 2-fight losing streak, he’ll have to face ‘Pitbull’ at UFC 314. And this bout will determine the 32-year-old star’s future in the organization. 

What are your thoughts on the Mexican featherweight’s heartbreaking yet inspirational story? Do you think he can claim the win at UFC 314? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.