Yair Rodriguez on loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 211: ‘S--t happens’

Up-and-coming featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez hit a speed bump on his way to superstardom in the form of Frankie Edgar, as “Pantera” simply didn’t have an “Answer” to Frankie’s vicious ground-and-pound at UFC 211, which ultimately resulted in a doctor’s stoppage due to a nasty eye injury.

Relive it all again here.

For Yair, the brutal defeat was his first inside the Octagon after racking up six straight, including his one-sided beatdown over BJ Penn earlier this year. So where does the Mexican-born 24-year-old phenom go from here?

Yair stopped by The MMA Hour to talk about the defeat and his future plans

“I was expecting that guy, that Edgar. That is great for me because now, I see the levels and I know what people are talking about when they say the high levels of wrestling, I see it and feel it and now it’s time work on the things I need to work on,” he said during a recent interview on The MMA Hour.

Indeed, Frankie’s goal was to show the young prospect the different levels of MMA, and “professor Edgar” came through with his promise. For Yair, the loss was eye-opening and says he won’t offer up any excuses for the performance, and says like in life, “shit happens” in MMA.

“You can ask anyone you want, I am better than that. It’s as simple as that, I work harder than that, I work to get better and I didn’t do everything. Shit happens, this is a learning experience and you can put many excuses, but I won’t ever do that. He was better than me that night and that's it. I just keep moving on and dust off like the cowboys say,” he concluded.

With a horse-riding background, Rodriguez recalls a time when it took him awhile to finally control one of his family's stubborn horses in his hometown in Mexico: All it took was plenty of time (and plenty of falls) to finally get it done, and he says his fighting career will be just that.

That said, he won’t be rushing back and he doesn’t plan on fighting at UFC Fight Night 114 on August 5, 2017 in Mexico, City, Mexico for the time being, as he has other things to tend to before he returns to action.

Anyone care to offer up a potential bounce-back opponent for “El Pantera?”