Yair Rodríguez Responds To Volkanovski’s ‘Green Light’ To Defend Interim Belt

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Yair Rodríguez wants to become the undisputed champion, whether or not it’s against Alexander Volkanovski.
Rodríguez defeated Josh Emmett for the interim featherweight title in the UFC 284 co-main event earlier this month. After ups and downs throughout his UFC tenure, he earned a belt and will likely face Volkanovski next.
While Rodríguez vs. Volkanovski for the undisputed title is a logical option, it might be on the shelf for a while. Volkanovski wants to face Islam Makhachev for a second time in an immediate rematch of their UFC 284 war.
If Volkanovski gets his wish, he’ll face Makhachev for another shot at becoming ‘champ-champ’ in the UFC. This would leave Rodríguez and the rest of the division a bit unstable in terms of the title picture.
But, Volkanovski would be fine with the prospect of Rodríguez fighting someone else in the meantime before he returns to featherweight.
Yair Rodríguez Reacts To Alexander Volkanovski’s Lightweight Plans

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Rodríguez responded to Volkanovski’s comments.
“At the end of the day, if he decides not to defend the title, that would make me undisputed champion,” Rodríguez said. “Because I would defend the belt against someone else…it’s one of those situations where you have to fight again. Whatever I have to do, I’ll do so…I can’t focus too much on him, the focus is on bettering myself.”
Rodríguez earned the interim featherweight title shot by defeating Brian Ortega last year at UFC Long Island. He bounced back in a big way after a loss to Max Holloway in his first fight in nearly two full years.
Volkanovski has earned the pound-for-pound No. 1 spot by defending the featherweight belt in dominant fashion. His last featherweight title defense came against Holloway in a trilogy at UFC 276.
If Volkanovski extends his leave from the featherweight division, Rodríguez is open to facing another top contender to move the 145lb group forward.
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.


Yair Rodríguez wants to become the undisputed champion, whether or not it’s against Alexander Volkanovski.


Rodríguez defeated Josh Emmett for the interim featherweight title in the UFC 284 co-main event earlier this month. After ups and downs throughout his UFC tenure, he earned a belt and will likely face Volkanovski next.


While Rodríguez vs. Volkanovski for the undisputed title is a logical option, it might be on the shelf for a while. Volkanovski wants to face Islam Makhachev for a second time in an immediate rematch of their UFC 284 war.


If Volkanovski gets his wish, he’ll face Makhachev for another shot at becoming ‘champ-champ’ in the UFC. This would leave Rodríguez and the rest of the division a bit unstable in terms of the title picture.


But, Volkanovski would be fine with the prospect of Rodríguez fighting someone else in the meantime before he returns to featherweight.


Yair Rodríguez Reacts To Alexander Volkanovski’s Lightweight Plans
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During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Rodríguez responded to Volkanovski’s comments.


“At the end of the day, if he decides not to defend the title, that would make me undisputed champion,” Rodríguez said. “Because I would defend the belt against someone else…it’s one of those situations where you have to fight again. Whatever I have to do, I’ll do so…I can’t focus too much on him, the focus is on bettering myself.”


Rodríguez earned the interim featherweight title shot by defeating Brian Ortega last year at UFC Long Island. He bounced back in a big way after a loss to Max Holloway in his first fight in nearly two full years.


Volkanovski has earned the pound-for-pound No. 1 spot by defending the featherweight belt in dominant fashion. His last featherweight title defense came against Holloway in a trilogy at UFC 276.


If Volkanovski extends his leave from the featherweight division, Rodríguez is open to facing another top contender to move the 145lb group forward.


Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.




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