With the champion Alexander Volkanovski stepping up to challenge for the lightweight title at UFC 284, the UFC has booked an interim featherweight title bout on the same event.
Josh Emmett will meet Yair Rodriguez for a piece of featherweight gold. The event is set to take place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on Feb. 11. The news was first reported by ESPN Deportes, and officially announced during the UFC 281 pay-per-view before the main event.
We've got TWO title fights coming to #UFC284!@PanteraUFC vs @JoshEmmettUFC is OFFICIAL for the interim featherweight title!
🛫🎟 Visit https://t.co/UocfFnKw6h to register for pre-sale tickets, Travel Packages, and VIP Experiences for #UFC284 in Perth! pic.twitter.com/U9i8Q9aBPS
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2022
In a unique situation at UFC 284, the featherweight division’s undisputed champion Volkanovski will be competing for the lightweight title against Islam Makhachev in the main event. To keep the featherweight division moving, Emmett will meet Rodriguez, with the winner guaranteed a shot at Volkanovski when he returns to the division.
Emmett, 37, is running hot on a five-fight win streak. On his current run, he has defeated Michael Johnson, Mirsad Bektic, Shane Burgos, Dan Ige and Calvin Kattar.
Rodriguez, 30, is coming off a first-round stoppage of former title challenger Brian Ortega in July. He has also challenged former champion Max Holloway, and has incredible highlight wins over Chan Sung Jung, BJ Penn, and Andre Fili.
With the addition, the UFC 284 lineup includes:
- Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski – for lightweight championship
- Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett – for interim featherweight championship
- Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa
- Tyson Pedro vs. Mingyang Zhang
- Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis
- Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter
- Joshua Culibao vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
