Newly crowned interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez took questions from UFC’s McKenzie Pavacich following his …
Mackenzie pavsich here in Perth joined by interim featherweight Champion yair Rodriguez first I wanted to congratulate you and also let you know you are now fifty thousand dollars richer you’ve been awarded a performance of the night so pretty nice way to cap off the uh the evening on top of some gold how are you feeling though overall after your performance well now I’m even more happy now you know I didn’t I didn’t realize that I wasn’t even put attention to it um I’m super happy to have this right now in my shoulder you know as a great opportunity to to help out my family and accomplish a couple of things that I have been thinking of for the last years and uh you know it really means a lot it means a lot for me you have no idea what it means for my people uh back home watching this they probably crying they’re probably super pumped enjoying screaming and jumping around and uh those are the moments that I whenever you ask me all the sacrifices I wish I could be in those both places you know here fighting for them I’m there and enjoying for them because a lot of people couldn’t come here but you know pretty important people for me is here my friends my family my coaches my team and I can be more happy than this right now this is an accomplishment that you’ve said is like 10 ish years in the making a very long time to be persisting toward just one goal but how much more special is it that your family is here you got to have that beautiful moment with your mom before you entered the Octagon yeah so um I was working with my brother and my dad actually yesterday like in the river right I think it’s um I don’t remember the name what’s called uh but I was walking uh down the river we were watching some dolphins and all the the beautiful birds and uh I was I was trying to myself I was thinking I we already win I already win by being here I already win by being able to bring my family here I already win by by having my people my my team with me here in this beautiful country you know like you probably is more usual for you guys you know for us it’s the first time that we’re able to travel this far um ever you know it’s uh it was a dream of mine to to have my family travel that those four distances to get to know other parts of the world and right now you know two Auto dreams dreams came true one is traveling basically across the world you know to this beautiful country which is being one of my dreams since I was a kid and now I’ve accomplished that this other dream which was in the UFC world champion means a lot you know it means it’s on this I don’t know how to explain in the world how much it means to me I want you to be able to enjoy this moment as the interim Champion but you did just sit and watch Alexander volkanovski and through the entire fight with Islam was there anything going through your mind as far as what you were watching him do and thinking about okay like I I’m fighting him next he looked impressive he looked impressive I didn’t I didn’t watch the whole fight but I watched Bart told the fight and he looked impressive uh he did a great job defending all the submissions he was able to turn around the fight in a couple situations and I don’t know you know the faiku have gone either way I will have to really take a look at um what it really happened really happened during the fight but I was just able to see moments of the fight so I don’t really know what happened but you know for now I mean like you say I’m just enjoying this moment and we’ll see we’ll see what’s next you know I don’t really think there is any Rush on deciding you know he probably has stuff and things to think and do and um me as well so for now I’m happy to have my family here and I was watching one of the pictures in there in the October with my family with the hats and stuff that’s something that really represents us as a family and being from the north of my country and uh wow that’s amazing thank you beautiful you also had a really really impressive performance the third ever triangle choke submission in a championship belt if I’m not mistaken can you walk me through the Finish yeah oh yeah so I don’t remember how I really landed into the floor in the second round um flying knee ah yeah that’s true yeah so I try flying e and then he was able to push he was that that always happens to me I need to make some adjustments uh I went to the floor and then when I was in the floor I was able to connect pretty good elbows that’s why I’m like I’m all inflamed you know and uh I was able to I I was practicing actually on that like did you see the film right before my fight I was practicing on that and uh you know I was able to connect the triangle I was able to adjust to make it the the little adjustment to get to got me to finish the triangle you know and there’s not much science behind a triangle or an Amber or anything like that you know it’s just the situation that then sometimes you are into and Who Who Are you able to um adjust to that situation and take advantage of it and that’s it everybody knows how to do triangles ambars flight numbers all kinds of submissions you know it’s up to the situation and how you’re able to adjust in that moment and I did pretty well I guess you know I got the submission submission win and uh I turned the fine around like in the first round he connected me pretty hard you know I was almost out in the first round and um being able to come back from that it just gave me a lot of proud you are the interim for the rate Champion congratulations once again what is the one thing though that you hope anyone watching tonight may have learned from you wow that’s a really good question learn from me um just learn from my mistakes learn from the mistakes I have been doing in uh in the in my career you know ups and downs learn learn from that for you to don’t do that so don’t do that and the things that you’re good at just keep on working on that the things that you’re not good at just keep on learning keep on advancing don’t don’t do the mistakes other people do learn like that learn that way and uh you’re a Savvy if you can do that you know and I’ve been able to to do a lot of mistakes in in my in my career you know but I’m here fighting to get better in every single aspect of my life not only on fighting but in my personal life as an experience in a spiritual person and uh you know it’s just uh is this there are these different elements to this game you know and I’m just trying to get better and better every every day that I can and just just fighting myself basically every day now you get to get better as Champion so congratulations we will let you get back to your family thank you so much thank you I appreciate that thank you