Yair Rodriguez finishes Korean Zombie with just a second left in the fight

The UFC celebrated its 25th anniversary in Denver, Colorado, where it all begun, and in some style.

The headline act, a fight between exciting featherweights Chan Sung Jung – better known as the Korean Zombie  (TKZ) – and Yair Rodriguez lived up to its billing and ended in dramatic fashion befitting a show celebrating the legendary MMA promotion’s silver anniversary.

This fight was a fun close one.

TKZ was aggressive as ever, piling on the pressure and landing some good, clean shots. Rodriguez was expert in his counter-attacking, landing smartly with power, slowing TKZ’s momentum.

Going into the fifth round, you could have scored the fight for either man depending on your preference – entertaining aggression versus smart defence, output versus efficiency.

With just seconds left of their gruelling 24 minutes-plus war, the pair embraced each other in the cage before one final salvo of violence.

However, Rodriguez was lying in wait with one of the most astounding elbows I’ve ever witnessed in MMA. With a second left of the fight remaining, TKZ was knocked out cold after rushing in and getting caught with this unorthodox elbow and Rodriguez secured his victory.

Missed the elbow in the above video? Check out the slowed gif below. It needs to be seen to be believed.

A fantastic fight, made even more impressive by both fighters competing at such elevation despite long layoffs.

 

Donald Cerrone armbars Mike Perry, breaking his arm and multiple records in the process

Colorado native Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone returned to the Octagon to fight in his home state. A purveyor of violence, it’s only fitting that Cowboy is appearing high up on the UFC’s 25th anniversary card.

Mike Perry, another man who doesn’t know how to put on a boring fight, was Cerrone’s dance partner.

The pair may have been friends, but things had soured since Perry was trained at Jackson-Winklejohn’s gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico – Cowboy’s former gym.

There was no glove touch as the fight begun. After some early striking exchanges, it was surprising to see Perry get the bodylock takedown after initially repelling Cerrone’s attempts to take the fight to the floor.

Cowboy soon reversed position with a sweep, but Perry does well to shake his opponent off to get back on top and land some ground and pound.

However, Cerrone was clearly in the mood for a submission. Perry did well to break Cowboy’s triangle attempt, but he didn’t foresee his foe then trying for an armbar from the bottom.

With his arm being wrenched, Perry made a last-ditch attempt to slam Cerrone to free his limb. But that just made things worse as Cerrone went belly down to pull on the arm some more, forcing Perry to tap.

Cerrone celebrated his win in the cage with his young son, having broken the all-time UFC win record, as well as the all-time UFC record of most wins by finish. He also happened to break Perry’s arm en route to victory.

A great win for Cowboy who was previously on a form skid of losing four of his last five bouts. According to the man himself, he has an exciting lightweight opponent lined up for him next, signalling his return to the weight class below.

 

UFC Fight Night: Korean Zombie vs. Yair Rodriguez full results

Featherweight: Yair Rodriguez defeats Chan Sung Jung by KO (elbow) at 4:59 of round five.

Welterweight: Donald Cerrone defeats Mike Perry by submission (armbar) at 4:46 of round one.

Catchweight: Germaine de Randamie defeats Raquel Pennington by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Lightweight: Beneil Dariush defeats Thiago Moises by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Women’s strawweight: Maycee Barber defeats Hannah Cifers by TKO (punches) at 2:01 of round two.

Lightweight: Mike Trizano defeats Luis Pena by split decision after three rounds.

Women’s strawweight: Ashley Yoder defeats Amanda Cooper by split decision after three rounds.

Featherweight: Bobby Moffett defeats Chas Skelly by technical submission (D’Arce choke) at 2:43 of round two.

Lightweight: Davi Ramos defeats John Gunther by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:32 of round one.

Lightweight: Devonte Smith defeats Julian Erosa by KO (punches) at 0:46 of round one.

Flyweight: Eric Shelton defeats Joseph Morales by split decision after three rounds.

Bantamweight: Mark de la Rosa defeats Joby Sanchez by split decision after three rounds.