Rodriguez Gets KO At The Buzzer In Fight of the Year Contender
It’s been a long road back to the octagon for Yair Rodriguez, and on Saturday night, he left the octagon unable to walk after a unbelievable war that saw him pull off a dramatic victory.
Yair Rodriguez (11-2, 7-1 UFC) defeated Chan Sung Jung (14-5, 4-2 UFC) by 5th-Round KO on Saturday night in a classic at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
HOW DO YOU LAND THIS?!?!?!?! OH MY @PanteraUFC!!! #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/CJx9dMpg0h — UFC (@ufc) November 11, 2018
Rodriguez, who made his first octagon appearance since May 2017, used an elbow strike in the final seconds of the fifth and final round to finish Jung in one of the best knockout finishes in recent memory.
The fight would end with one second remaining in a fight that saw Jung up 3-1 on two of the judges scorecards.
Each fighter had their moments in the first round with “Pantera” working the leg kicks and Jung getting in with punches landing when Rodriguez made himself a stationary target.
A war broke out at times in the the second round eight both fighters getting as well as they took, with Rodriguez landing slick counter shots and a hard flying knee while Jung remained consistent, pressuring Rodriguez even with a bloody nose developed.
The exciting Mexican-bred fighter would have a strong round three, tagging “The Korean Zombie” with hard left hands and landing strong counters in what turned into a back and forth barnburner.
Jung would have a huge round four, rocking Rodriguez with a hard right cross that would send him stumbling to the cage as the two bloodied fighters continued their duel.
Piecing up Rodriguez, who slowed but got in shots here and there against the iron chinned Jung who may have had his nose broken, Jung was in control of the fifth round.
With about 15 seconds remaining in the fight, Rodriguez would get the crowd, which had witnessed a brilliant contest up until that point, fired up by standing in the middle of the octagon waving both of his hands.
Jung would show respect for his opponent, touching gloves with him before blitzing in with strikes. As Jung blitzed in, Rodriguez, who had his head ducked out of the way, would land a sneaky elbow strike that crushed Jung, sending the Denver faithful into a frenzy in this 25th anniversary event.
Talk about a return to the octagon, can you believe a fighter like this was cut by the UFC earlier this year???
Luckily the UFC and Yair Rodriguez would rekindle their relationship with one another before too long, or the UFC would be without one of the possible faces of their company.
The creative 26-year-old striker was beaten brutally in a 2nd-Round TKO loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 211 last year, and with injuries and contract negotiations holding him back, it was a lengthy 18-month lay-off for the promising contender.
A win Saturday night over a former title challenger and a fighter with championship metal goes a long way towards Rodriguez potentially one day chasing down UFC gold.
For now, we’ll enjoy the memorable fight and finish he and Chan Sung Jung gave us tonight.
UFC Fight Night 139 Results
Donald Cerrone uses armbar in Round 1 to turn back Mike Perry
Germaine de Randamie takes unanimous decision win over Raquel Pennington
Beneil Dariush uses ground game to befuddle Thiago Moises for unanimous decision victory
Maycee Barber tattoos Hannah Cifers in vicious Round 2 TKO win
Michael Trizano does just enough to snatch split-decision victory over Luis Pena
Ashley Yoder slides past Amanda Bobby Cooper with split-decision victory
Bobby Moffett gets controversial submission win over Chas Skelly in Round 2
Davi Ramos gets rear-naked choke submission win over John Gunther in Round 1
Devonte Smith uses punch power to blast Julian Erosa with Round 1 KO
Eric Shelton picks up closely contested split-decision win over Joseph Morales
Mark De La Rosa outlasts Joby Sanchez for hard earned split-decision victory
What are your thoughts on Yair Rodriguez’ stunning victory over Chan Sung Jung? Leave your comments below!
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