“Then what’s the point of introducing a temporary title?” – Said the Australian in the next issue of the program “Hour of MMA”. “Obviously this was done to keep the division going, so Rodriguez will be the guy to look after him while I go upstairs and mind my own business.”
“He can keep this flag while I am away, as I need to settle the issue with Makhachev. There is no reason to fight Yair now. Otherwise, there was no point in holding an interim title – you could just have a Candidates fight and do without extra belts.
This past weekend at UFC 284 in Perth, Yair Rodriguez won the interim UFC Featherweight Championship with a triangle choke finish in the second round of Josh Emmett, while Alex Volkanovski, in the main event of the numbered event, failed to take the UFC lightweight title from Islam Makhachev, who lost by unanimous decision after five rounds.
After the fight, the Australian expressed disagreement with the referee’s decision, demanded an immediate revenge, and also accused the Russian of violating anti-doping rules.