Yair Rodriguez is officially a UFC champion – even if it is of the interim variety – after he submitted Josh Emmett this past Saturday at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.
Rodriguez looked impressive for 9 minutes before he locked in a triangle choke to make Emmett tap out late in the second round. The Mexican star’s victory should set up a likely title-unification bout with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who came up short in his bid for champ-champ status by dropping a unanimous decision to lightweight champ Islam Makhachev.
While Rodriguez has endured his ups and downs during his UFC tenure, his performance at UFC 284 was a statement. And it has us wondering: How much of a threat is he to Volkanovski?
