For the first time in a long time there will be someone with a UFC featherweight belt not named Alexander Volkanovski or Max Holloway. In the co-main event of UFC 284, Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett will be competing for the interim title with an expectation that the winner will either face Volkanovski in a unification bout or have the belt converted to the real thing, should the Australian permanently vacate the title.
Rodriguez and Emmett reach this point after somewhat of a bumpy road, that has included a couple of false-starts for both men. And neither has really stamped their authority as the no-doubt number one contenders in the division.