Yair Rodriguez’s struggle week had no scarcity of opposition.
Formally, he was booked to struggle Patricio Pitbull at UFC 314 on Saturday. After defeating Pitbull, he referred to 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 present practice 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 preventing Volkanovski a second time.
“Within the eyes of the followers, in fact, however for those who ask me, for those who’re in my place proper now, the meat can keep apart for now,” Rodriguez stated. “The one factor that I’m in search of proper now’s preventing for that belt.
“What occurred? I feel when the second comes we’ll speak extra about it, however for now, I simply wish to give attention to the title struggle, which is preventing towards 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 together 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 is not going to go unresolved.
“I feel it has to occur in some unspecified time in the future,” Volkanovski stated. “I really talked to my pal Marco Beltran and I advised him, ‘I acquired you, bro. I’ve acquired this one for you. I’ll be sure in some unspecified time in the future each time I’ve the possibility to struggle him, I’ll be sure I acquired it for you.’ I didn’t wish to do—as you’ve seen, [Lopes and I] have been capable of take photos collectively, I used to be capable of play it cool for so long as I might preserve 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,’ sort 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 Combat 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 might resolve to go in a special path. However Rodriguez is assured he’ll be booked for a distinguished spot on the upcoming UFC 320 occasion in Guadalajara, Mexico, and it is sensible to him that he struggle for the title as soon as extra.
“Volkanovski has fought all around the globe,” Rodriguez stated. “He hasn’t fought in Mexico. Guadalajara isn’t tremendous excessive elevation, I feel it is sensible for the UFC to convey an enormous numbered occasion in Guadalajara and I feel Volkanovski will be capable to run it again from me, I feel he’ll be glad to do this.”
