UFC 284: Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmet Preview, Odds, Prediction

The co-main event of the UFC 284 is the bout between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett, which is also the clash for the interim UFC featherweight belt. Alexander Vokanovski is meeting Islam Makhachev, and is unavailable to defend his belt with one of the guys from his division. Rodriguez and Emmet deserved their chance to battle for the throne, and really whoever wins here will be the perfect challenger in the future. The Mexican is the favorite, but Emmet is too tough of a guy to care about the bookmakers’ opinion.

Preview

Yair Rodriguez (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) (-165) or El Panthera is one of the reasons why we love to watch UFC. The Mexican is a taekwondo black belt, and his impressive legwork is unique in the entire organization. You’ll never see a guy with a more versatile approach in offense with his leg kicks than Rodriguez. 

Rodriguez lost to Max Holloway in one narrow battle in November 2021 but then defeated Brian Ortega in the next bout, though, that victory was due to T-City’s shoulder injury, which prevented him from continuing to fight. 

The 30-year-old had problems with injuries in the past, and if that didn’t happen, he would most definitely have become one of the best fighters in the division much earlier. He won the Ultimate Fighter: Latin America competition, with just 21 years, and holds wins over Dan Hooker, Andre Fili, BJ Penn, the Korean Zombie, and Jeremy Stephens. 

Josh Emmett (18-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) (+140) is the typical bully inside the ring and a guy who will mercilessly beat you from the first until the last moment. His incredible power and physique allow him to eat a few punches before reaching his rivals, and upon doing that, there are two options for winning – one is heavy and dirty boxing, and the other is wrestling.

Emmet used to be a decorated wrestler during his high school and college days, which gives him and edge over the other rivals due to his versatility. Though, he prefers to calmly collect points in the stand-up and beat the hell out of the opponents with fists. 

The 37-year-old has five triumphs in a row, beating Michael Johnson, Bektic, Burgos, Ige, and most recently, Calvin Kattar in what was his first five-round event. It was a split decision, yet we need to say that Emmet didn’t deserve to end up on the losing side and that it wasn’t controversial as in some other situations. 

Prediction

El Pantera has more experience even though he is seven years younger than Emmet. He fought bigger names, and even though he looks weaker than his rival, who is like a bulldozer, our pick would be the Mexican. Why? Well, even if Emmet takes down Rodriguez, El Pantera worked on his grappling and wrestling, and we believe that he has a chance to rebuff those attacks. However, Emmet didn’t meet with guys like his next rival in the past, and Rodriguez’s leg kicks will be a massive problem for the American. El Panthera knows to keep the distance, and Emmet is a big target, not so mobile as, for example, Max Holloway. 

Pick: Rodriguez -165