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Battling for the interim featherweight championship in the UFC 284 co-main event, Yair Rodriguez put on arguably the finest performance of his career. Rodriguez took less than two rounds to lock in a triangle choke and force Josh Emmett to tap out, gaining Rodriguez his first taste of UFC gold.

Rodriguez came out fast, using his his speed and length to pepper Emmett with kicks to the head, body and legs. One early body kick folded Emmett over and briefly sent him reeling.

Emmett was able to take advantage of Rodriguez's aggression late in the opening round, sending an off-balance Rodriguez to the canvas and following to do some damage with heavy ground and pound. Rodriguez was never in deep trouble, however, and managed to get to the end of the round.

Things only got worse for Emmett in the second round, with Rodriguez battering him with blistering shots from odd angles. At one point, Emmett's equilibrium was thrown out of whack from a short elbow to the temple from Rodriguez.

Looking to close the show, Rodriguez unloaded more heavy shots before connecting with a flying knee. Emmett was able to use the knee to take Rodriguez back to the canvas, but Rodriguez patiently positioned himself to try to lock in an armbar before transitioning to a triangle choke to force the tap.

The submission was Rodriguez's first in nearly a decade and was the first time Emmett had been submitted in 21 professional bouts.

Rodriguez now waits for featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski to fight lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the UFC 284 main event before returning to the featherweight division for a showdown to crown an undisputed champion.

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