Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports


While Alexander Volkanovski pursues dreams of becoming a two-division title holder at UFC 284
, Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez will vie for the interim featherweight crown on the same card.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the bout during the UFC 281 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 284 takes place on Feb. 11 in Perth, Australia, and is headlined by a lightweight title tilt pitting Islam Makhachev against Volkanovski.

Emmett has won five straight bouts in the Octagon. Most recently, the Team Alpha Male product earned a hard-fought split decision triumph against Calvin Kattar in the UFC on ESPN 37 main event on June 18. His resume also includes wins over the likes of Dan Ige, Shane Burgos, Mirsad Bektic and Ricardo Lamas.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, is coming off a victory over Brian Ortega in the UFC on ABC 3 headliner in which his opponent was unable to continue after suffering a shoulder injury. “El Pantera” is 9-2 with one no contest in UFC competition and owns notable victories against the likes of Ortega, Jeremy Stephens, Chan Sung Jung, B.J. Penn and Dan Hooker.

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