The UFC held its 25th Anniversary card tonight in Denver, and Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung put on one of the best fights in the promotion’s history.
Rodriguez fired off some heavy leg kicks to begin the fight, while Jung looked to counter with blitzes of punches. For much of the opening round, both featherweights were content to stay in the pocket and throw strikes, although neither man was able to rock the other.
In round two, Rodriquez continued to attack Jung with kicks, and at one point, he tagged the latter with a spinning elbow, but “The Korean Zombie” ate it. Rodriguez began to open up with more spinning techniques, but not surprisingly, Jung continued to move forward. By the end of the round, Jung’s lip appeared to be split open.
The third frame saw Rodriguez continue to pound in kicks on Jung, but the latter continued to press forward with one-two combos. Although Rodriguez was coming with more acrobatic techniques, Jung was landing his fair of shots as well.
The slugfest continued in round four, and while both featherweights landed some hard shots, Jung appeared to find the mark more often. In round five, Rodriguez cracked Jung with another, spinning elbow, but it didn’t halt the pressure of TKZ. At one point, both men stopped fighting and acknowledged the crowd before resuming the war. Jung planted a hard punch not long after. Right before the final horn, Rodriguez ducked and tagged Jung with an elbow from below that that KO’d the “Zombie” instantly. It was an unbelievable finish to an unbelievable fight.
Here are the card’s complete results.
Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung via KO (elbow) R5, 4:59
Donald Cerrone def. Mike Perry via submission (armbar) R1, 4:46
Germaine de Randamie def. Raquel Pennington via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Beneil Dariush def. Thiago Moises via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
Maycee Barber def. Hannah Cifers via TKO (punches & elbows) R2, 2:01
Mike Trizano def. Luis Pena via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Ashley Yoder def. Amanda Cooper via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Bobby Moffett def. Chas Skelly via TKO (D’Arce choke) R2, 2:43
Davi Ramos def. John Gunther via submission (rear-naked choke) R1, 1:57
Devonte Smith def. Julian Erosa via KO (punches) R1, 0:46
Eric Shelton def. Joseph Morales via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 30-27)
Mark De La Rosa def. Joby Sanchez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
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