UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez says that he has no problems with his opponent this weekend in Mexico City — but when it comes to new 145-pound champion Ilia Topuria, it is a different story.

Former title challenger Yair Rodriguez will look to take a step back to championship contention this weekend in his home country when he takes on compatriot Brian Ortega, who was born in the United States to Mexican parents. The fight comes without the type of bad blood that often comes with a UFC main event — with Ortega even bringing his young family members to the podium for a ‘staredown’ with Ortega on Wednesday.

But if Rodriguez has no ill will whatsoever towards Ortega, that is certainly not the case of the newly-crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.

“I would love to f*ck him up,” Rodriguez told the media, including The Mac Life, during Wednesday’s media day in Mexico City.  “I don’t want to fight him, I want to f*ck him up. There’s a f*cking big difference on that, just to make that clear. And anywhere I f*cking see him, I’ll f*ck him up.”

He added: “F*ck this b*tch. I don’t f*cking like him.”

Both fighters have engaged in tense wars of words on social media in recent months, and Rodriguez suggested that the bad blood is such that he doesn’t believe he’d be able to control himself if they shared the same space.

“I don’t normally get into this kind of situation with nobody, I’m really respectful,” ‘El Pantera’ said. “But this f*cking guy, you know, I just don’t really like him. I don’t like him. I don’t have to f*cking like him. I want to f*ck him up. That’s what I want to do.”

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