Yair Rodriguez batters Josh Emmett prior to triangle choke finish, claims interim 145 lb title at UFC 284
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, February 11, 2023, for UFC 284, going down live from the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Headlining the event was a champion versus champion clash, as the no. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (25-1) moved up to the lightweight division to challenge no. 2 pound-for-pound ranked UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (23-1) in attempt to become a two-division champion.
In contrast to our featherweight champion moving up to 155 lbs tonight, our co-main event of the evening showcased an interim featherweight title bout between no. 2 ranked Yair Rodriguez (14-3) and no. 5 ranked Josh Emmett (18-2), the winner of which will of course face Volkanovski later this year in a champion versus champion bout of their own.
Rodriguez was coming off a TKO victory over former two-time title challenger Brian Ortega, while Emmett had won his last five-straight, most recently defeating Calvin Kattar last June.
Continue reading to see how this epic featherweight championship co-main event went down:
Official Result: Yair Rodriguez def. Josh Emmett via submission (triangle choke) at 4:19 of round two
Rodriguez opens up the bout looking very sharp on the feet, landing hard leg kicks and switching stances to land even harder body kicks. The first body kick of which noticeably hurts Emmett, who immediately backs off once it lands.
Emmett regains his composure and a minute or so later lands a couple hard right hands before bullying Rodriguez down to the mat, holding top position for the final 90 seconds of the opening round.
These two just start swinging early in the second, Emmett throwing his heavy bombs and Rodriguez absolutely unloading with a series of round kicks to the body and head.
Midway through the second round and Emmett is having a tough time with finding his range aside from an occasional right hand, and he’s also having an issue with the amount of damage he’s taking.
Rodriguez goes for a flying knee that lands right on the jaw of Emmett, but Emmett eats it and catches Rodriguez’ leg, slamming him back down to the mat for the second time.
Not long thereafter and Rodriguez throws up his legs for an armbar, which he’s unable to secure until he switches to the triangle and ultimately forces a tap from Emmett.
YAIR RODRIGUEZ GETS THE INTERIM BELT BY SECOND ROUND TRIANGLE #UFC284 https://t.co/vVtNDvWFz2
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) February 12, 2023
Yair Rodriguez became the first man to ever submit Josh Emmett tonight at UFC 284, and he becomes the fourth featherweight in history behind Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, and Max Holloway to claim the interim UFC featherweight championship.
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