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#5 Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens (Featherweight)
The fight that ended in a disappointing no-contest at UFC Fight Night 159 had to happen again. This time it was a three-round co-main event bout. It was time to walk the talk.
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Round 1: Yair went for a ridiculous flying head kick right off the gate. Insane!
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Yair went back in and clinched with Stephens. He attempted the leg trip but Stephens maintained his posture. Stephens flipped the position and had the under-hooks while pushing Yair against the fence. They broke up and Yair went for his trademark kicks.
Yair connected with a hard body kick and followed it with another body kick. He used an oblique kick and then a beautiful 1-2 was followed. A solid jab from Stephens. Another leg kick from Yair. Good counter left hook from Stephens.
Yair attempted a flying knee which Stephens defended by changing levels. Stephens clinched against the cage before both men returned to the centre. They clinched again for a few seconds. A solid body punch from Stephens. Spinning body kick attempt from Yair. He went up top with a kick. Side kick-body kick combination from Yair.
Stephens got knocked down in the closing stages of the first round.
Round 2: Yair looked animated as he casually mucked around with his movement. Yair's kicks were beautiful and snappy. It came from different angles and were targeted at various impact points and they all connected sweetly.
One such kick stunned Stephens. Yair connected with a massive body kick that shut Stephens down. Stephens dropped down to the mat with a follow-up leg-sweep and Yair jumped in for the finish.
Yair unloaded with huge strikes, however, Stephens somehow managed to stay in the fight. Yair went off but Stephens stayed conscious and defended enough to keep the referee at bay.
Yair momentarily looked for the armbar before going back to the hammer fists while looking for the finish. Stephens showed tremendous grit to survive and get back on his feet. Stephens threw a few fighting shots and ate another body kick.
Stephens managed to get Yair down. He looked to throw big elbows from the top. Yair looked to work an Arm Triangle. Stephens showed off his good ground striking.
Stephens landed a big knee as Yair got back up to his feet against the cage. Yair covered up and the fans were voracious inside the TD Garden. Stephens went for the kill but the time was up in the second round. What a round!
Round 3: Stephens refused the fist bump. Stephens landed a massive punch that pushed Yair Back. Stephens looked pumped up as he chased Yair like a dog. Yair continued to go for the body kicks.
Stephens shot for the takedown and got Yair down. He landed punches from the side before Yair worked his way up to the feet.
Stephens landed another takedown and got into Yair's guard. Yair landed a few elbows from the bottom. Stephens connected with elbows from the top and side punches with his left.
Short elbows from Stephens in half mount. Stephens was dominating this round in top control. Stephens kept landing big shots while being in Yair's guard. Massive elbows and punches. He continued to do so until the end of the round. Now that was a freakin' fight!
Result: Yair Rodriguez def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jeremy Stephens' late boom wasn't enough to get him the win here. Despite the unmatched resiliency showed by Stephens, Yair did just enough in the first two rounds to get the nod from the judges on the scorecards.
In the end, it was great to see two rivals put on a barnburner and then bury their hatchet after the fight. This was MMA at its all-round finest folks.
