5 most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez

UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodriguez was crammed with wild and explosive moments

UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez might’ve been largely in the shadow of the two big pay-per-view events that came before it, but it produced some insane action.

With a total of nine finishes in eleven bouts on the card, as well as an absolute war in the main event, this UFC Fight Night quickly became an instant classic.

Cashing in on an eventful day of fights 💸

💢 @AndreaKGBLee & @KhaosOXWilliams secure the POTN bonuses at #UFCVegas42!

[ B2YB SQ1Flex ] https://t.co/tlkmIukvOh

So with plenty of candidates to choose from, which fighters produced the most explosive moments of the night overall?

Here are the five most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez.

#5: Joel Alvarez breaks out in the UFC with a brutal knockout

Joel Alvarez picked up his first UFC knockout by viciously stopping Thiago Moises

There wasn’t much hype around Spanish lightweight Joel Alvarez leading into last night’s event, but in hindsight, maybe there should’ve been.

‘El Fenomeno’ came into the fight having gone 3-1 in the UFC, but he’d finished his last three opponents with some pretty slick grappling. Matched with Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Thiago Moises, fans would’ve been forgiven for expecting a real grappling war on the mat.

However, Alvarez surprised everyone by unleashing his striking for the first time in his UFC career, and the results were unexpectedly devastating.

After a brief feeling-out period, Alvarez backed Moises up with some long punches, and then suddenly turned up the heat, cracking him with a vicious standing elbow.

Moises was clearly stunned by the shot, and could do little else but cover up as ‘El Fenomeno’ opened up with relentless aggression, hitting the Brazilian with heavy punches and more elbows, one of which opened a bad cut on his forehead.

Moises managed to remain standing under the barrage, but he was clearly done, and when referee Marc Goddard stepped in to call the fight off, there were no complaints.

Statement made by Joel Alvarez 💥

[ #UFCVegas42 | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] https://t.co/Ck4myVEAEq

This was an eye-opening performance from Alvarez, as few UFC fans could’ve predicted he’d have such an explosive striking style to go with his slick grappling.

If he can sort out his weight-cutting issues – he missed the 155lbs mark for the second time in a row prior to this fight – he could develop into a very special fighter indeed.