Getty Yair Rodriguez & Alexander Volkanovski
Interim UFC featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez isn’t fully convinced that Alexander Volkanovski will return to the division to unify the belt.
Both Volkanovski — the promotion’s 145-pound king — fought at UFC 284 earlier this month in Perth, Australia. Volkanovsi attempted to become the UFC’s fifth-ever simultaneous two-division champion by taking out lightweight ruler Islam Makhachev during the event’s main event. He fell short after a closely contested five rounds, losing the match by unanimous decision.
Because Volkanovski left featherweight for the opportunity, Rodriguez competed in the co-main event against Josh Emmett for the interim strap. In what was his most impressive Octagon performance to date, Rodriguez showed he was a level above Emmett, tapping the American out with a second-round triangle choke after displaying his elite striking on the feet.
While appearing on MMA Fighting’s “The MMA Hour,” Rodriguez said he had heard “nothing” from the UFC regarding the title unification bout. Volkanovski has made it clear on multiple occasions that he wants to rematch Makhachev. Most recently, he took to Twitter and challenged Makhachev to “run it back.”
Rodriguez Plans to Become 145-Pound’s Undisputed King, Regardless of What Volkanovski Does
Because of Volkanovski’s strong desire to achieve another weight class belt, Rodriguez doesn’t know what will happen with “The Great.” Regardless, Rodriguez is solely focused on becoming featherweight’s undisputed champion — no matter who stands across from him inside the Octagon.
“I think it’s just too soon to hear something like that,” Rodriguez said. “But whatever, at the end of the day, if he decides not to defend the title, that would make me the undisputed champion. Why? Because I’m going to defend the belt against somebody else, and what’s going to happen? I’m going to be the undisputed champion.
“If he decides to come and fight at 145 pounds again, then whoever wins that fight will be the undisputed. So regardless of the situation, it’s one of those situations that are, like, you have to fight again. That’s why I didn’t want to take the Josh Emmett fight, because he’s a beast. You need to be really smart in this game because everybody’s tough in this game, everybody’s tough. … Now, if Alexander Volkanovski decides not to go down to 145 pounds, then I have to fight again to get the undisputed belt.”
Rodriguez Would Love to Fight in Mexico City Next
Rodriguez hails from Mexico, and he’d love the opportunity to hoist undisputed gold in front of his countrymen in Mexico City. But, Rodriguez will take what the UFC gives him. And he hopes that they’ll slot him in for the title unification bout in the near future.
“I think I’ll be OK with whatever comes first,” Rodriguez said. “I have to talk to the UFC. I was trying to push for Mexico City because that would be amazing and the people, of course. But I’ll be happy with May, June, or maybe even International Fight Week in July. July would be awesome too. Whatever the UFC wants me to do, I’ll be happy to do so. I’m just here, just waiting to hear news and then move on.
“It’s just one of those things where, OK, I have the belt now. It’s amazing, don’t get me wrong. It’s beautiful, it’s an amazing feeling, people around me, everybody looks at me like a true champion. But OK, what’s coming next? I always say this: You’ve got to move on from your losses fast, but from your wins you’ve got to move on faster. Because OK, I already won, that’s it, it’s not a big deal, what’s next?”