Yair Rodriguez’s combat week had no scarcity of opposition.
Formally, he was booked to combat Patricio Pitbull at UFC 314 on Saturday. After defeating Pitbull, he known as for a shot on the featherweight title, which was later claimed by Alexander Volkanovski on the finish of the night. After which there’s Diego Lopes.
Rodriguez and Lopes each at the moment prepare out of Mexico and the 2 have a deep animosity for one another that bubbled to the floor throughout this previous Thursday’s pre-fight press convention in Miami. The fighters exchanged phrases and needed to be separated by safety.
At Saturday’s post-fight press convention, Rodriguez was requested if his private beef with Lopes takes precedence over combating Volkanovski a second time.
“Within the eyes of the followers, after all, however if you happen to ask me, if you happen to’re in my place proper now, the meat can keep apart for now,” Rodriguez mentioned. “The one factor that I’m on the lookout for proper now’s combating for that belt.
“What occurred? I feel when the second comes we’ll speak extra about it, however for now, I simply wish to deal with the title combat, which is combating in opposition to the present champ Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch and I wish to try this in Guadalajara.”
Rodriguez snapped a two-fight shedding streak with a powerful resolution over Pitbull, who made his debut after a 15-year run competing for Bellator that included three reigns as that promotion’s featherweight champion. “El Pantera” feels his efficiency mixed along with his opponent’s credentials needs to be sufficient to earn him a rematch with Volkanovski.
Volkanovski defeated Rodriguez—then interim champion—in a title unification bout at UFC 290 in July 2023. That’s a loss Rodriguez badly needs to avenge, although he assured followers that his feud with Lopes won’t go unresolved.
“I feel it has to occur sooner or later,” Volkanovski mentioned. “I truly talked to my good friend Marco Beltran and I advised him, ‘I acquired you, bro. I’ve acquired this one for you. I’ll be certain that sooner or later at any time when I’ve the possibility to combat him, I’ll be certain that I acquired it for you.’ I didn’t wish to do—as you’ve seen, [Lopes and I] had been capable of take footage collectively, I used to be capable of play it cool for so long as I may maintain it cool, however the man was making an attempt to be disrespectful within the press convention. Making an attempt to love, ‘Oh, what number of losses does he have,’ type of like attacking me like that.
“I used to be like, ‘You already know what? That’s it.’ I’m not capable of f*cking take it anymore.”
Whereas Rodriguez declined to elaborate on the precise points between him and Lopes, it has to do with not simply them, however their groups. Lopes defeated Rodriguez’s teammate Marco Beltran at a LUX Battle League occasion in November 2019 and apparently the unhealthy blood has solely worsened from there.
Complicating Rodriguez’s state of affairs is the truth that Volkanovski is already one up on him and the matchmakers could determine to go in a special course. However Rodriguez is assured he’ll be booked for a distinguished spot on the upcoming UFC 320 occasion in Guadalajara, Mexico, and it is smart to him that he combat for the title as soon as extra.
“Volkanovski has fought all world wide,” Rodriguez mentioned. “He hasn’t fought in Mexico. Guadalajara isn’t tremendous excessive elevation, I feel it is smart for the UFC to carry an enormous numbered occasion in Guadalajara and I feel Volkanovski will have the ability to run it again from me, I feel he’ll be completely happy to do this.”
