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UFC commentator Jon Anik shared his perspective on the burgeoning rivalry between featherweight contenders Yair Rodriguez and Diego Lopes. Although they were not scheduled to fight each other at UFC 314, the pair engaged in a heated verbal altercation that required the security personnel to intervene and prevent further escalation.
In the aftermath of UFC 314, Lopes vs. Rodriguez is being proposed as an intriguing fight. However, social media reactions indicate that some fans believe the rivalry is a promotional fabrication designed to create hype.
During his recent appearance on the On Paper with Anthony Smith podcast, Anik dismissed this notion, stating:
"This is not promotional fabrication. This is a real thing."
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To reinforce his argument, Anik, who was conducting the press conference, said heated arguments between fighters not scheduled to fight each other are a promotional tactic that UFC CEO Dana White does not endorse:
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"One thing I'll just add as the man who's in the middle of all of this at the press conference, Dana White doesn't love when fighters who aren't fighting against each other that weekend, take over and are going at each other."
Check out Jon Anik's comments below:
Rodriguez went on to secure a comfortable unanimous decision victory against Patricio Pitbull at UFC 314. Unfortunately for Lopes, Alexander Volkanovski shut down his game en route to a unanimous decision victory in the vacant title fight, becoming the two-time UFC featherweight champion.
Yair Rodriguez promises to "beat" Diego Lopes "in the right way"
The exact origin and timeline of Yair Rodriguez and Diego Lopes' rivalry are yet to surface. However, it appears to be linked to Rodriguez's friend and former UFC fighter Marco Beltran's history with Lopes.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Rodriguez mentioned that he promised Beltran to beat Lopes, stating:
"Whenever the time comes to fight Diego, I'll take care of that inside of the Octagon, as I'm supposed to for my friend [former UFC fighter] Marco Beltran. I told Marco, 'Don't worry about it. I'll f*ing take care of that. I promise you, I'll f*ing beat him for you, man. I f*ing promise you.' But in the right way. How it's supposed to be."
Check out Yair Rodriguez's comments below (9:42):
Although Rodriguez and Lopes appear eager to settle the beef, their primary focus seems to be on getting the title shot. Lopes is yet to explain his side of the rivalry and has not commented on it after his UFC 314 defeat.
