Yair Rodriguez Vs Josh Emmett!! Yair Rodriguez has claimed the interim featherweight championship title at UFC 284 with a stunning victory over Josh Emmett.
The bout, which took place on Sunday at RAC Arena, saw Rodriguez (15-3) submit Emmett with a triangle choke at 4 minutes and 19 seconds into the second round.
The interim featherweight title was established as the current champion, Alexander Volkanovski (25-2), stepped up to contest Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship.
However, Volkanovski’s bid for the title ended in defeat as he lost to Makhachev by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 284.
Going into the bout, Rodriguez was favored to win, but Emmett, with a record of 18 wins and 3 losses, gave him a run for his money from the start.
Emmett, who hails from Sacramento, caught Rodriguez off guard in the first round with a powerful right hand that nearly knocked him out. This enabled Emmett to gain the upper hand and inflict further damage.
Despite the early setback, Rodriguez, who is 30 years old, bounced back in the second round and started attacking Emmett’s body with powerful kicks.
Emmett visibly struggled with the impact of these blows, making him an easier target for Rodriguez’s well-rounded offensive skills.
Moments later, Rodriguez delivered a devastating elbow strike against the fence, further hurting Emmett.
Later in the round, Emmett successfully took Rodriguez down, but Rodriguez remained tenacious and managed to secure a triangle from his back.
“This has been my dream since childhood,” Rodriguez proclaimed.
With this victory, Rodriguez has made history as the second Mexican-born champion in the UFC, following in the footsteps of Brandon Moreno who recently regained his flyweight title after defeating Deiveson Figueiredo.
It is expected that Volkanovski, an Australian fighter, will seek to unify his title in a future match against the mighty Rodriguez.
Yair Rodriguez Vs Joss Emmett Final Faceoff Vide Below;
