UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez is thrilled to finally get his chance at a belt. He will compete against Josh Emmett at UFC 284 on the same night the current 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski chases the lightweight strap against Islam Makhachev. Although Rodriguez looks forward to eventually fighting Volkanovski, he’s very happy with this turn of events, explaining how it came to be in a recent interview with The MMA Hour.
He started by remembering a “talk” with Volkanovski about a potential title matchup. “[It was] not a promise. We had a talk; we talked to his manager, [and they said], ‘Will you really go to Australia to fight this guy?’ Yeah, let’s go. This is what we do. Why would I say no?
Yair Rodriguez “Happy” With Interim Title Shot
I thought that we had, not a deal, but we talked about it, and I thought he was going to say OK, let’s go. But he would rather go for 155. I don’t blame him. That’s probably a bigger opportunity than to fight me, and I don’t blame him. I think he’s doing the right moves for his career, and that’s it.”
Rodriguez described the interim title as a “bridge”. “This is not the undisputed [title]. I understand this is like the bridge. It’s the final decision to go for the belt. Or, in case Volkanovski decides not to come back to 145 for some reason, the belt comes to whoever wins, which in this case is me. I won’t feel like I’m the champion if I don’t really get to fight for the actual belt.”
Ultimately, Yair Rodriguez is very happy with the situation. “Well, of course I feel happy. It’s an opportunity that I think nobody should say no to. It’s a really big opportunity for me, and I’m really happy for it. Of course, I would rather fight for the actual belt than fighting for an interim belt, but this is the situation that I’m in right now, and I don’t really mind it. I have a pretty tough opponent in front of me that I have tons of respect for him, and I just have to go and do what I do best, and that is fighting, and get the win.
I kind of saw it coming, so I didn’t really care about it. Whatever. I knew that I had the opportunity to fight for the belt soon, and I didn’t really care. I wish both of the guys the best. I don’t have anything against Islam, but I hope Volkanovski wins.”
Do you think Yair Rodriguez will ultimately get the Volkanovski fight? Let us know in the comments.
