I've seen Joe Rogan get tongue-tied calling Yair Rodriguez fights - Chael Sonnen draws incredible comparison between 'El Pantera' and Demetrious Johnson

(Clockwise) Chael Sonnen, Joe Rogan, Demetrious Johnson, Yair Rodriguez [Image via Chael Sonnen on YouTube]

Chael Sonnen has drawn an interesting parallel between featherweight Yair Rodriguez and former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.

In a new episode of Beyond The Fight, Sonnen pointed out that Johnson's techniques were so unique that he'd only seen them in animation. 'The Bad Guy' then noted how 'El Pantera' is the only person to make him feel the same way. Referring to the Mexican as a 'video game', Sonnen said:

"Rodriguez is a video game. I used to have to say that about one guy and only one guy, Demetrious Johnson. Demetrious would do techniques that you could only do through animation. I have only seen them before in scripted, edited animation. True, video game and then Rodriguez came along."

EL PANTERA IS BACK 🐆

@PanteraUFC is ready for Brian Ortega in our #UFCLongIsland main event!

🇨🇦 Main card: 2pmET Saturday on @UFCFightPass, TSN, & RDS https://t.co/F19QZnXlgS

Sonnen added:

"Joe Rogan has called Rodriguez fights before and I've seen Joe getting tongue-tied because he couldn't tell the audience what the move was called. We didn't even see it, didn't even have a name and Rodriguez did five of these in one night."

Now, at 29, Rodriguez returns for the first time in 2022 to face Brian Ortega at UFC Fight Night this weekend. Rodriguez was unbeaten in his previous three fights before losing to Max Holloway via unanimous decision last November.

Watch Sonnen give his take on Yair Rodriguez below:

Yair Rodriguez promised title shot if he overcomes Brian Ortega

Rodriguez revealed that a win over Ortega would put him in title contention after president Dana White's assurance. In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Rodriguez spoke about his potential title opportunity, saying:

“Yes, that has been said to me. Yeah, that’s what we’re looking for."

Rodriguez is currently 2-2 in his last four fights after winning a rematch against Jeremy Stephens in 2019. The first fight was deemed a no-contest after an illegal eye poke caused the referee to stop the action.

Yair Rodriguez puts his friendship with Brian Ortega aside for #UFCLongIsland. 🇲🇽

Full story: bit.ly/3ANwwhL https://t.co/rGS07dR75y

His upcoming opponent Ortega is coming off an unsuccessful title clash against featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266 last September. With both fighters looking for their shot at gold, the stakes are as high as ever as they enter the octagon on Saturday.

Even with a win, Rodriguez will be wary of the work ahead of him to dislodge Volkanovski, who currently looks invincible after his trilogy sweep over Max Holloway.

Watch Yair Rodriguez discuss a potential featherweight title opportunity below: