Chael Sonnen praises the genius matchmaking regarding Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett for the interim UFC featherweight title

Chael Sonnen has lauded the UFC matchmakers for booking a fight between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett. During the UFC 281 broadcast on November 12, play-by-play commentator Jon Anik officially announced the Rodriguez-Emmett matchup.

Signed & sealed 📝

@PanteraUFC takes on @JoshEmmettUFC for the interim featherweight championship in your #UFC284 co-main event 🏆 https://t.co/K33eLAuVc7

Anik confirmed that Rodriguez will fight Emmett for the interim UFC featherweight title at UFC 284 on February 12 in Perth, Australia. Additionally, it was also announced that UFC 284 would feature UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski moving up to challenge UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for the latter's title.

In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen indicated that in response to Jon Anik's announcement, fellow UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier expressed their excitement. 'The Bad Guy' pointed out that Cormier opined that the Rodriguez-Emmett showdown makes perfect sense.

Makhachev. Volkanovski. Lightweight Title. P4P Status. Perth. February. OFFICIAL 🤩

#UFC284 https://t.co/AWag8K4PSE

Chael Sonnen agreed with 'DC' and explained that the fight was an excellent matchmaking decision. It gives Alexander Volkanovski the opportunity to go after the lightweight title whilst also ensuring that the featherweight division isn't stalled:

"What Daniel Cormier said is that [Rodriguez vs. Emmett] makes perfect sense. Yeah, that does make perfect sense. I feel like I could wear a lot of hats in this business but I could not wear that of the matchmakers."

Sonnen added about the matchup:

"I mean, that really is very smart. They're not going to hold up anybody. That's good for morale, right? Volkanovski going up, and what a cool thing, and we're looking forward to it. But we've got to remember the boys [other UFC featherweights] in the back."

Watch Sonnen discuss the topic at 2:15 in the video below:

When Chael Sonnen picked Yair Rodriguez over Josh Emmett as the next UFC featherweight title challenger

Yair Rodriguez is coming off a first-round TKO (shoulder injury) win against Brian Ortega in July, while Josh Emmett is fresh off a split-decision victory over Calvin Kattar in June. In an episode of Beyond the Fight earlier this year, Chael Sonnen broke down why Rodriguez would likely leapfrog Emmett into a title matchup against Volkanovski.

All smiles at #UFC277... just wait until they meet in the Octagon 👀

@alexvolkanovski 🤝 @panteraufc

📹:@CCLegaspi https://t.co/fUADyvYmCp

Chael Sonnen alluded to the fact that Yair Rodriguez spoke to Volkanovski in person at UFC 277 and demanded the next title shot. Moreover, Sonnen criticized Josh Emmett for not being vocal enough in his quest to earn a title shot:

"[Yair Rodriguez] ran into Volkanovski, made sure that we all knew about it. It wasn't great, it wasn't overly interesting, he still did it. Josh did nothing... That's just the spot that we're in."

Watch Sonnen's assessment below: