UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez was hoping to earn himself a shot at the champ, Alexander Volkanovski, with a victory over contender Brian Ortega at UFC Long Island this weekend. Although he claimed a TKO win, it came thanks to a shoulder injury that incapacitated Ortega, throwing Rodriguez’s title charge into doubt, as he explained at the post-fight press conference.
“We’ll have to see. I want to talk to the UFC first. I want to travel to Vegas and talk to the big bosses and see what they want to do, what they want me to do. They’re being really helpful to me. I’m just happy to be in this company. I’m super happy to work for them.
Yair Rodriguez On Track for Surprise Title Fight After Ortega Win
Whatever they want me to do, I’m just going to wait and see where everything goes with injuries and stuff. For now, I don’t want to think too much about that. I just want to enjoy time with my friends and family.”
Another spanner in the works is Volkanovski’s self-proclaimed goal of a move up to lightweight as well as a hand injury that might sideline the Australian champion. In the champ’s absence, Dana White pointed out that we may see Yair Rodriguez fight for an interim title against Josh Emmett.
“Wow, that’s pretty good/ I don’t know what to say to that. Whatever they want to do, I’m willing to do whatever they want to do. The ideal fight would be Volkanovski, but he’s out. So I guess whatever Dana says.”
Another option for Yair Rodriguez, and one not to be underestimated, is a rematch against Brian Ortega once the shoulder injury that sent “T-City” out of the Octagon heals. “I told him right after the fight, ‘Hey, don’t worry about it. You’re fine, you’ll be fine.’
‘I’m sure we’re going to meet up in the future. We can run it again, you just get healthy. But I want to tell you this, I’d rather do it for the championship instead of being in a situation like this. If you and I are going to fight again, hopefully we fight for the title.’”
Alexander Volkanovksi has earned his nickname of Alexander “The Great” with a series of increasingly convincing victories over some of the top contenders in the sport. His most recent win, a one-sided decision victory over former champ Max Holloway, is arguably his most emphatic. Whether Yair Rodriguez has what it takes to dethrone the champ is another story.
Do you think Yair Rodriguez has earned a title shot? Let us know in the comments.
