Yair Rodriguez has a piece of gold now in his possession after claiming the interim featherweight belt against Josh Emmett in the UFC 284 co-headliner.
With champ Alexander Volkanovski taking a stop at lightweight, Rodriguez (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) took advantage of the situation and secured a second-round submission win over Emmett (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in Saturday’s clash at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Rodriguez’s interim title triumph over Emmett at UFC 284.
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MMA Junkie
IT'S TIME for the co-main event of #UFC284. Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett battle it out for the UFC interim featherweight title.
Who you got? 🤔
Full results: https://t.co/lT7WRTWMSQ pic.twitter.com/4m9WoLTP42
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 12, 2023
Nick Kalikas
#UFC284 Interim Featherweight Title Closing Betting Odds via @CircaSports
Josh Emmett +155
Yair Rodriguez -180@UFC 💰 | @ESPNPlus | @ESPN— Nick Kalikas (@FightOdds) February 12, 2023
UFC
Ready for his shot at UFC gold!@JoshEmmettUFC enters for our #UFC284 co-main! pic.twitter.com/thRy1bPJHx
— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023
UFC
Determined to achieve his ultimate goal!@PanteraUFC enters with a chance to leave as the interim featherweight champion 🏆 #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/i6mjrTy0us
— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023
UFC
These two CAN'T WAIT! Let's do this! ❤️🔥 #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/dwQTLJHNQ6
— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) February 12, 2023
Michael Chiesa
Shits about to get crazy. #UFC284
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) February 12, 2023
Kevin Iole
Emmett hurt by body kick and Yair lands a right behind it
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) February 12, 2023
Luke Thomas
Yair is freezing Emmett with the body kicks and then scoring free punches right afterwards.
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) February 12, 2023
Belal Muhammad
Those kicks !!!!
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 12, 2023
Mookie Alexander
Emmett's either going to do something extraordinary with his punching power against a notoriously durable Yair or Yair is just going to combo him into dust. There's a huge disparity in striking diversity, speed, and athleticism between the two.
And Yair is hurt!
— Mookie Alexander, Unofficially (@mookiealexander) February 12, 2023
Bloody Elbow
10-9 Emmett round 1? He was getting worked for the first 3 minutes, but if one fighter came close to getting finished it was Yair. #UFC284
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) February 12, 2023
Nick Kalikas
#UFC284 LIVE In-Game Wagering Odds After RD-1 via @CircaSports
Josh Emmett +110
Yair Rodriguez -140@UFC 💰 | @ESPNPlus | @ESPN— Nick Kalikas (@FightOdds) February 12, 2023
Aljamain Sterling
Great round!! Yair RD 1 #UFC284
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) February 12, 2023
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
#ufc284 @panteraufc is on 🔥@ufc
— Joanna Jedrzejczyk (@joannamma) February 12, 2023
Teddy Atlas
Timing can beat speed, exactly what Emmett did to catch Rodriguez and pull out round possibly. #UFC284
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) February 12, 2023
Mike Bohn
Yair Rodriguez submits Josh Emmett with a triangle choke to become interim UFC featherweight champion. What a performance for him. #UFC284
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) February 12, 2023
Daniel Cormier
Yair is eating him alive , he looks amazing tonight #ufc284
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) February 12, 2023
Brett Okamoto
Volk Yair is gonna be f*ing awesomeeee
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 12, 2023
Vicente Luque
2 Mexican champions in the UFC now! Viva latino-america #UFC284
— Vicente Luque (@VicenteLuqueMMA) February 12, 2023
Nolan King
Yair Rodriguez submits Josh Emmett with a triangle choke in Round 2. Flashy and effective striking, slick grappling, confidence. Great showing for an interim strap. #UFC284
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) February 12, 2023
Paul Felder
Solid performance. Very calculated
— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) February 12, 2023
Charly Arnolt
Yair Rodriquez is so fun to watch! #UFC284
— Charly Arnolt (@CharlyOnTV) February 12, 2023
John Morgan
What a performance from Yair Rodriguez. Dangerous man, and now an interim champion. Felt a long time coming for this man, and he finally gets it done. #UFC284
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) February 12, 2023
Brian Ortega
I’ll see you soon congrats @ufc
— Brian Ortega (@BrianTcity) February 12, 2023
UFC
MEXICO HAS ANOTHER PIECE OF GOLD!
🇲🇽🏆 @PanteraUFC PUTS HIMSELF TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE! #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/zpEoadb2eZ
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 12, 2023
Henry Cejudo
Flawless performance by @panteraufc. He put on a clinic. #AndNew #UFC284
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 12, 2023
Aljamain Sterling
Wow! Beautiful submission finish! Emmett was bringing heat, but the speed of those kicks man! I was saying it before that JE needed a early KO because the speed and variety will cause trouble. #UFC284
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) February 12, 2023
Anthony Pettis
Elite performance. Welcome to the World Champion club @panteraufc
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) February 12, 2023
MMA Junkie
#UFC284 results: Yair Rodriguez (@panteraufc) def. Josh Emmett via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:19 – to win interim featherweight title.
Full results: https://t.co/lT7WRTWMSQ pic.twitter.com/7B6JeDr4iN
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 12, 2023
UFC
About as good as you can look in a high-stakes scenario!
🤠🇲🇽 @PanteraUFC: Interim Featherweight Champion! #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/USrmmlEfzA
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 12, 2023
Dan Ige
Congrats @panteraufc amazing performance champ
— Dan Ige (@Dynamitedan808) February 12, 2023
Francis Ngannou
Yair Rodriguez is always fun to watch. Big up to Josh!
Congrats Champ 🏆— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) February 12, 2023
