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UFC 284: Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett Picks & Predictions (2023)

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UFC 284 will get underway this Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. This card features a deep lineup with two title fights set to take place.

In the co-main event, the vacant featherweight title is on the line as Yair Rodriguez takes on Josh Emmett. Rodriguez opened up as a -165 favorite before he was bet up to the current price of -180.

Below, I walk through the betting profile of each fighter and make my best bet for this featherweight title fight. The play below is one unit or 1% of your betting bankroll.

Check out our other UFC 284 betting picks:

Bet $5 on UFC 284 Makhachev vs. Volkanovski, Get $200 in Bonus Bets >>

Best UFC 284 Rodriguez vs. Emmett Bets

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Betting Profile: Yair Rodriguez (15-3 Overall / 9-2 UFC)

Last Five Fights (W-L-W-NC-W)

Yair Rodriguez is coming off his victory over Brian Ortega after “T City” dislocated his shoulder at the end of the first round and was unable to continue the fight. It was a closely contested first round without a whole lot of action, but Rodriguez walked away with the win nonetheless.

Prior to that scrap, Rodriguez went 2-2 with a no-contest over his last five fights. With that said, his two losses came against Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar, two legends of the sport.

A winner of TUF: Latin America, Rodriguez’s rise in the featherweight division has been impressive, with wins over Dan Hooker, BJ Penn, Jeremy Stephens, and Brian Ortega. A clinical striker, Rodriguez lands 4.67 strikes per minute at 45% accuracy.

Typically preferring to stay in the stand-up, all of Rodriguez’s fights in the UFC have ended in either a knockout or gone to decision.

Betting Profile: Josh Emmett (18-2 Overall / 9-2 UFC)

Last Five Fights (W-W-W-W-W)

Entering this bout in terrific form, Josh Emmett has won each of his last five fights. However, I would argue that Emmett’s resume is not as impressive as Rodriguez’s.

His two losses are worse than Rodriguez’s, losing to Jeremy Stephens and Desmond Green. Additionally, he does not have as many marquee wins, with his biggest two coming against Calvin Kattar and Shane Burgos.

This fight is a massive step up for Emmett, who is taking on the number two contender in the featherweight division for Volkanovski’s vacant belt. Like Rodriguez, Emmett prefers to stand up and strike, as all of his scraps in the UFC have either ended via knockout or gone to decision.

Bottom Line

We should expect these two guys to stay in the stand-up for the vast majority of this interim title fight. Both guys are much more comfortable in the striking department than they are in the grappling, and with the nerves of this scrap being the biggest fight of each of their respective careers, we should expect them each to stick to what they are best at.

With these two guys staying in the stand-up, the edge is with Rodriguez as he boasts a five-inch height and one-inch reach advantage. On top of that, he is a more accurate striker while throwing in larger volume, which is good if this fight goes to the scorecards.

Speaking of which, the judges may be needed at the conclusion of this scrap. Through 20 professional fights, Emmett has only been finished inside the distance once.

On the flip side, Rodriguez has a strong chin, which was on full display in his five-round loss to Max Holloway, a fight in which Holloway landed 230 (!!) significant strikes. Rodriguez is the better striker, and with how good each of these guys’ two chins are, his most likely route to victory is on the scorecards.

Best Bet: Yair Rodriguez via Decision (+150 via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Best of luck!

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Tony Sartori is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tony, check out his archive and follow him @tony_sartori.