Yair Rodriguez says his celebrity increased after BJ Penn win

Last month, Mexican featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez scored a nice win over UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn. Now several weeks removed from this win, the wild striking specialist explained to MMA Junkie that his defeat of Penn has made him a much more visible celebrity.

“To be honest, before BJ, of course people recognized me, but not as much as this time,” he explained. “Now I can see in the United States a lot of people are asking me for pictures, autographs and all that stuff. Before it was just in Mexico and Latin America. Now it’s everywhere.”

Rodriguez then addressed his future, explaining that as far as next opponents go, he’s open to pretty much anyone.

“I don’t really care at this time; at the top of the division everyone is going to be very, very tough. Most of the fighters in the top 10 are almost at the same level, in different ways. Some at striking, some at wrestling, some of them at jiu-jitsu. To be part of the top you have to be ready for everything so it doesn’t really matter.”

“I’m just waiting to see who the UFC wants to bring. I will be waiting, and I will take whoever. Whoever that the UFC want me to fight I’ll be ready for him.” 

While he’s pretty easy-going when it comes to the topic of his next opponent, we’re hoping the UFC matches him up with the resurgent Korean Zombie.

With his defeat of Penn, Rodriguez extended his win streak to a whopping eight, the six most recent of which occurred inside the UFC’s Octagon. The Mexican contender’s overall record now sits at 10-1.

Who do you want to see Yair Rodriguez fight next? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/14/2017.