Yair
Rodriguez believes he is not very far from title
contention.
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Rodriguez is coming off a third-round stoppage loss against
Alexander Volkanovski in his first shot at featherweight gold at
UFC 290 last July. The Mexican standout will next face Brian
Ortega in a rematch in front of his home fans at
UFC Mexico on Feb. 24.
“El Pantera” believes a title shot could be waiting on the other
side of a win over Ortega.
“I think it’ll put me right there for the title shot again,”
Rodriguez told Middle Easy. “Of course, that would have a lot
to do with the [Ilia] Topuria vs. Volkanovski fight. I think that
will dictate where the division will go and what fights there are
to make. If ‘Volk’ wins, which I think he will and I win my next
fight, I think a rematch could be a potential reality.”
Rodriguez acknowledges that the possibility of a title shot depends
on the outcome of the
UFC 298 title fight, where Volkanovski will look to defend his
throne against an undefeated Topuria on Feb. 17. While Rodriguez
would like to avenge his loss against “The Great,” he is willing to
face either man if it means another shot at the title.
“I don’t care. Whoever will be fine,” he said. “I just think that
the abilities of Volkanovski are way better than Ilia’s. Ilia is
really good, but I don’t think he has what he needs in order for
him to win that fight. The only thing I see in that fight is I
think ‘Volk’ too soon coming off a loss. Not only a loss, but a
KO.”
The first outing between Rodriguez and Ortega in July 2022 ended in
anticlimactic fashion, as “T-City’s” shoulder popped out in the
first round while “El Pantera” was attempting a submission.
“I don’t see why people keep thinking that his shoulder fell off
for no reason,” Rodriguez said. “It’s OK. Everybody can think
whatever they want about what happened there. If Brian wants to
accept it or not, that’s not my problem. This is a completely
different fight in a whole different environment, and it’ll be
great. Mexico is gonna be a super tough fight, so it’s gonna be
interesting.”