Yair Rodriguez taps Josh Emmett, wins UFC interim featherweight belt
Emmett #Emmett
Yair Rodriguez defeated Josh Emmett by submission in the second round to capture the interim featherweight championship Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.
Rodriguez locked in a triangle choke and got Emmett to tap at 4 minutes, 19 seconds. It was Rodriguez’s first UFC win by submission.
Rodriguez (15-3, 1 NC) is the second Mexican-born champion in UFC history, joining flyweight champ Brandon Moreno.
Emmett’s (18-3) five-fight winning streak was snapped with the loss.
Alexander Volkanovski, who was set to fight in the main event against Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title, is the UFC featherweight champion.