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The interim UFC featherweight title match between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett will take place at UFC 284 right before Alexander Volkanovski seeks to become the newest champ-champ. The UFC has chosen to let Rodriguez and Emmett fight it out for the interim title to keep the featherweight division going.
On February 11, the event is scheduled to take place at Perth, Australia's RAC Arena. The highly anticipated battle was revealed on Saturday during the pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 281, hours after the promotion had officially revealed the super fight between lightweight champion Volkanovski and undisputed champion Islam Makhachev.
Rodriguez had stated that he wasn't interested in accepting an interim championship battle. He intended to wait for Volkanovski, whose desire to hold two titles concurrently has been widely disseminated. Rodriguez recently said he hadn't given up on his idea to take on Volkanovski next.
The 30-year-old Rodriguez recently defeated Brian Ortega via TKO, but only after "T-City" sustained a shoulder injury early in the fight. Rodriguez has put on some of the most notable performances in recent featherweight history before then, though, and has been patiently waiting for his first title shot. The veteran must accept whatever he can receive, which will be a temporary belt.
Emmett, meantime, has battled through the featherweight division's wilderness while weathering injuries and layoffs to maintain his position. He recently defeated Calvin Kattar by a split decision while on a five-fight winning streak, which put him in the running for the interim title. The last four victories were against Dan Ige, Shane Burgos, Mirsad Bektic, and Michael Johnson.
The official UFC 284 bout schedule has not yet been determined.