Yair Rodriguez unconcerned with Alexander Volkanovski's plans as he chases UFC featherweight gold

Yair Rodriguez is next in line to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title. The interim featherweight champion recently revealed that he is not worried about the No.1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter's plans as he looks to become an undisputed champion.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, 'El Pantera' stated:

"At the end of the day, if he decides not to defend the title, that will make me the undisputed champion. Why? Because I'm going to defend the belt against somebody else, and what's going to happen? I'm going to be the undisputed champion. If he decides to come and fight at 145 pounds again then whoever wins that fight will be undisputed so regardless of the situation - it's one of those situations where you have to fight again."

Yair Rodriguez added:

"You have to be smart enough to know, I can't just go fight Alexander Volkanovski instead of having to go through tough opponents because I felt like I deserve the opportunity, and now I have to face Josh Emmett, who's a beast, and I need to go through him to get to the title shot. If Alexander Volkanovski decides not to go down to 145 pounds then I will have to fight again to get the undisputed belt."

Rodriguez was able to defeat Josh Emmett at UFC 284 via second-round submission to become the interim featherweight champion. Both fighters will be out for at least six months following the bout due to medical suspensions. However, 'El Pantera' has his eyes set on becoming an undisputed champion upon his return.

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Alexander Volkanovski calls for rematch against Islam Makhachev

Alexander Volkanovski was defeated by Islam Makhachev via unanimous decision at UFC 284. Despite the loss, the featherweight champion revealed that he would like another opportunity to chase double champ status.

After the lightweight champion sent out a tweet in search of his next opponent, 'The Great' responded by proposing a rematch, stating:

"Let’s run it back and give the people what they want! @MAKHACHEVMMA"

While Volkanovski stated that he would defend his featherweight title in his next bout, interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez will be out for at least six months due to a medical suspension. The injury to 'El Pantera', combined with the lightweight title fight, which was closely contested, could open the door for the featherweight champion to receive a rematch.

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's tweet below: