Newly crowed UFC interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez speaks with members of the media after defeating Josh …
well jayer right in front right here I know uh you want the Undisputed bile and that’s the interim belt and right there in front of you but I guess what are the emotions now that you are on another Mexican Champion upstairs up there on stage even though I uh believe that I could do this in one stage of my life it’s almost like unbelievable at the same time I don’t know it’s weird it’s weird to to explain you know that I finally get to carry this belt around and call myself a champion it’s been a it’s been a long journey you know we’ll talk I was talking to my coaches earlier um and they say okay it’s been it’s been a long time it’s been already 10 years since we started working you know and um you know this feels so realistic but um you know I’m really happy you know I’m super happy that I can have my family here with me for this special moment and in this special land you know that I always wanted to come here to Australia uh the public was so amazing the crowd was perfect you know and the people has been so nice to to me and my family and uh you know I can’t wait to come back here you said immediately there were a lot of bumps in the road just to get here to Australia so given everything that happened leading up to this where does this rank in terms of your career wins can you repeat the question given everything that you went through to get here to Australia you know you had to fly you had to stand I think it was bottle you said it for a long time the other side of the world where does this just rank in terms of just your the whole journey and everything in your career well well it’s just um like you know whenever you get into the top of a mountain and then you get to the top used to realize there is more exactly in that point right now I just go here used to realize that is more to come and there is more places to to go you know and um this is um I don’t want to say nothing you know because this is a lot for me but compared to what one can do in this sport this this means just a little you know so I’m gonna I’m gonna keep pushing to accomplish more goals into this company to my dream and making my my family my country and my friends feel proud of me I’ve been looking at this fight against Josh uh did this play out as you thought he didn’t seemed to land a couple hard punches in the first and then you came out very aggressive in the second round yeah um we I work with my coaches the same strategy as you saw in the fight I work with my with my training Partners we knew he was going to come hard we knew he was going to move around and then and sit down and land those hard punches uh we talk about it in the interviews he’s so explosive he aggressive uh he’s aggressive and um quick you know I couldn’t see that punch you know coming towards me and uh all of a sudden I was out for a second you know and um in the second round um he wasn’t the first round when I hit him in with the with the lever with a lever kick and I saw him kind of like slowly start like slowing down you know I could see him like kind of struggling to the fight I could land a couple good punches he had a good cut in his face and I I was like okay use be relaxed and you you’ll get it don’t get desperate and um then he landed that good punch and coming out in that second run I was saying to myself you stay positive stay positive you will get it don’t get desperate and everything is going to be there you just believe in yourself and um you know I could I could get a w we saw your your coach Izzy Martinez cage side after you got the bell and he has long been saying that you know you’re gonna you’re going to get the UFC championship at some point so what was it like to finally you know go back there and see him with that championship hey uh I told him it probably it’s been a long time right you should took me less time than this it’s like no everything’s a journey everything is a journey you know and uh if you’re in this point in your career right now is because he had to be like that so you know for everybody’s different for me it was this way and uh you know I also coach Mike and Coach easy they’ve been putting a lot of work into this you know and many many other people there are not here they’ve been put on a lot of effort and work uh into making me who I am right now as an athlete and as a person and I can thank all the people and not for all those those days of hard work then finally I have to ask about Alex volkanovsky’s performance in the main event uh he’s it was obviously a very close fight he says he wants to drop of course he wants to drop back down unify the belts at what point do you start you know looking at that fight down the road and breaking down how to match up with Alex yeah I was looking at the fight um I couldn’t really see that much of the other fight he was how he was going in between Islam and him but uh it was it was a pretty good fight I was like because he was pretty it’s a pretty close fight um talking about his fight against me um I think he’s quick I think he’s explosive and he has a pretty good wrestling and two defense so I think the fighting between him and I will like stay standing up so we’ll be like a like more of my striking fight and everything comes down to who does it better in that day who does a better strategy who’s able to maintain the strategy if he’s working you know unable to adjust if it’s not working and you know I can see much about anything you know it’s just a matter of could also buried that day yeah tonight was the first time Alex is lost in the UFC and in over 10 years when you guys fight do you think that’s going to have a more motivated version of him or do you think maybe you’re catching him at the perfect time now because maybe who knows where his confidence will be at where his mindset will be at all those things bro he’s fighting for the 155 pound division against Islam macashif you know he’s not fighting tonight ain’t nobody Islamic stuff it’s really tall we have seen the Russian the Russian guys fighting this company they’re super tough and you know he was able to go in there not only five rounds but demonstrating he’s capable of also winning you know because he was the fight was pretty close he was three rounds to two so uh I think he did a pretty good job he’s gonna I just think the fighting between him and I will will be as he has to be you know he he will be there 100 I don’t see why not and I’ll be there 100 as well so so you guys will have a pretty good fight do you think you’ll have to come back here and do the unifier here or we had Dave Shaw the UFC executive up there I asked him about maybe doing it in Mexico and she you know didn’t dismiss it so is that would that be your perfect world yeah that would be perfect you know uh I actually I talked to Alexander volcanovski in the past in Dallas no not that much with them but with his manager and he was like he asked me will you be able to go to Australia will you go to Australia was like yeah why not yeah of course I’ll go so I I stick to my to my world and I came here won the interim title and uh now I want to ask the UFC to take this belt this championship fight to Mexico City in September whenever they open in the the UFC performance Institute so we can do it there I don’t know if you saw Alex’s walk out tonight and how crazy that was but is that something you dream of of like what that could be like for you in Mexico um I I didn’t really see him you know I was busy doing the interviews and some pictures and stuff you know and I I wasn’t able to see it but I’m sure I have no doubt that it was crazy for him you know all the people here is they’re they’re big fans you know and they are really supportive of their people and I’m sure it was it was crazy for sure yeah yeah uh you’ve had some bumps in the road on this journey uh the losses to Edgar Holloway it was there any point that you thought like you might not get to this crowning moment that you’re right now yeah those are the moments that I told the most you know and uh those are like the demons that I that I taught in the interviews that you have to fight every single day of your life their what ifs what if I can’t what if I don’t or what if this happens or what if you know and uh some of those things they never became true you know so the only thing that you can do is live your life the best way possible avoiding the most mistakes you can and doing the best you can you know and then stop thinking that much you sleep and uh with that say you know um I’ve been learning to fight my demons every single day and winning over them every time that I that I you know think of situation like that and uh who’s been the most instrumental in in this journey for you cool who’s been probably the most motivating who’s motivated you the most perhaps a coach or family member to get you to this moment it’s just a mix of everybody you know I can I can mention a single person but uh of course my mom my mom has my heart she’s a special part of my life my brother as well my little sister my dad is a special part of my life of course but those two guys back there looking at me right now my coaches you know they’ve been they’ve been there for me regardless of my craziness of what I decide to do you know they’ve been they’ve been there for me for many years and put in a lot of trust and effort into this to become true and I can thank them enough because they have seen me in my Wars they have seen me my best and you know they know me they know me like no many other people knows me and uh you know have them here right now is amazing you know I can take my my management team enough I can take my friend Marco and off for helping me out to get here and uh it’s just it’s just a mix of everybody you know all my people back there at home you know it’s it’s everybody you know you can you have to kind of absorb the best energy from everybody and and put the negative away um my friends I know I’m rooting for me there and they were just calling me moments ago and look at the phone and they were just calling me you know because they want to talk to me and I’m sure they want to congratulate me and say I’m sure what they’re going to say I’m sure they’re gonna say we knew you’re gonna become a champion one day we told you we told you this we talk about it and um it’s just been a long journey you know of many many people believing in me but especially especially myself and uh can you talk uh about the the love that Australia has had for you uh during this fight they’ve really adopted and take taken you in when you walked out Australia went wild for you um is have you felt that love throughout fight week if I have felt that before just the the love that Australia has for you uh they’ve really kind of adopted you this this fight week yeah that’s that’s that was crazy you know because I’m I was probably one of the contenders for the like the 145 title itself and uh they knew it and they even like that they they were able to to have applaud me and share for me and many people walk uh towards me in the street and asked me for pictures and they they didn’t stop telling me how much good unlocked they um they wish me and you know I I really love to be here you know and uh normally I have I have friends from here that uh there’s been a long time I didn’t see it was I was really happy to see them you know and uh it’s amazing it’s amazing to be here this is the first experience that I have flying this long and having my family here is makes it so special thanks Mike congratulations thank you yeah yeah um just towards right at the end there after Josh submitted you said something to him and I was just wondering what you said to him yeah um so this is a really important point for us right like I already said and uh when I finished the triangle I go see his expression the desperation of of like I I lose you know I lose I it’s like he he saw his opportunity to go away but I just want to say to him you know I told him no no hey no stop like stop that thinking that you have right now you’re a warrior you will overcome this you know you got this so the only thing that I can say to him you’re a Warrior brother we find the way to wake up to stand up every time we fall into the ground and I’m sure you will do that you know so stay strong and I’m sure we’ll see each other in the future again so just keep being strong brother what sort of bond do you make with someone when you’re in the cage fighting them even if you don’t like them it’s a very unique situation and um how do you feel towards a person once you’ve been in that situation with them can you repeat the question uh being in the Octagon fighting someone is a very unique it’s actually quite intimate situation so what can you say to the bond you build with someone once you’ve fought them I mean there is no match that it can be say you know only wishing the guy the best wishing uh everybody your opponent and the the best you know I don’t really I’m the guy that uh likes to to attack my opponents uh in many ways only when I’m fighting you know I I like to make this uh sport as clean as possible out and in the cage you know we can can get to any direction you want you know it’s gonna have to it’s gonna be up to you how far you want to take it with me because I’m I’m able to do so as well but um I like to be an easy on my on my opponents friendly and whenever I have to talk is inside the cage and doing my job and that’s it you know I don’t see why talking or saying that much thank you and congratulations thank you hell yeah thank you guys I appreciate I appreciate all of you