PERTH, Australia – Yair Rodriguez had some nice words of encouragement for Josh Emmett immediately after submitting him at UFC 284.
Rodriguez (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) captured the interim featherweight title in this past Saturday’s co-headliner at RAC Arena when he made Emmett tap out with a triangle choke in Round 2. Both Emmett (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Rodriguez were very respectful toward each other in the lead-up to their fight, and they carried that same energy afterward as Rodriguez was seen consoling Emmett when the fight ended.
“This is a really important moment for us, and when I finished the triangle, I could see in his expression the desperation of like, ‘F*ck, I lost,'” Rodriguez told reporters at the UFC 284 post-fight news conference. “It’s like he saw his opportunity go away, but I just wanted to say to him no.
