Yair Rodriguez believes that Ilia Topuria cannot afford to suffer a defeat against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Topuria, who remains undefeated with a record of 14-0, has made it clear that if he manages to dethrone Volkanovski, he will not defend his title against Rodriguez, Max Holloway, or Brian Ortega. Instead, he plans to go after Conor McGregor. Rodriguez finds this delusional and believes that Topuria’s career will be over if he loses to Volkanovski. He thinks that Topuria’s brash nature and the things he has been saying will make people laugh at him after the fight.
Rodriguez, who will be facing Ortega in a UFC Fight Night co-headliner, is not necessarily rooting for Volkanovski, but he predicts that the champion will come out on top. While he won’t immediately campaign for a fight against Topuria if he loses, Rodriguez admits that he would love to face him at some point. However, he believes that Topuria has nothing to offer and would prefer to fight Volkanovski instead. Rodriguez even expresses a desire to fight Topuria in Spain, as it would be his opponent’s home turf. Despite his strong feelings, Rodriguez maintains that he respects everyone but Topuria.
According to the Source mmajunkie.usatoday.com