The Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado was home to a SOMETHING night of fights, with three (T)KOs, three submissions, and six decisions, an incredible four of which were split-decisions.
The early stoppage of Chas Skelly at the hands of Bobby Moffett and referee Tim Mills had my Wonder Twin Iain Kidd maaaad. Mills briefly grabbed Skelly’s arm, and when he didn’t get the response he wanted, called the fight. Skelly was reacting immediately, without even the slightest delay. Skelly, unsurprisingly, was unhappy.
The instant replay was reviewed, and it was decided that the referee, Tim Mills, was incredibly smart and handsome and made the correct decision. The person reviewing the replay was... Tim Mills.
Performances of the Night: Donald Cerrone and Yair Rodriguez
Donald Cerrone came out to a huge pop from the Denver crowd. As the fans chanted “Cowboy! Cowboy!”, Perry missed with his first punches. They tie up in the clinch, trading knees. Perry misses with an uppercut but defends Cerrone’s takedown attempt. Perry secures a takedown, but Cowboy reverses quickly, looking to take the back, but losing position. Cowboy makes an adjustment and attacks with a triangle, but “Platinum” escapes the choke. Donald goes for the armbar, Perry slams him, Cowboy goes belly down and 2% Perry 100% tapped. Donald Cerrone gets the win and 50,000 big ones for his son’s future cowbootie (thanks Tasha and Iain for “cowbootie”) collection.
Yair Rodriguez’s bonus-winning performance is covered under FOTN.
Fight of the Night: Yair Rodriguez vs. Korean Zombie
Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung put on the exact fight everyone was hoping for; a back and forth war of attrition with one of the most ridiculous finishes in UFC history. The story for most of fight was Rodriguez’s kicks versus Jung’s punches. Yair was going to the legs early and often, and mixed it up with a variety of flashy wheel kicks. KZ countered with blitzes of straight punches and uppercuts.
The judges had the Korean Zombie up 39-37, 39-37 and one 38-38 scorecard going into the final round. Jung was literally a second away from victory, but the word “safe” isn’t in his vocabulary in any language. With seconds left, he launched yet another combo at Rodriguez, who bowed under the shots and threw a hail mary no-look back elbow into the air. The same air that was suddenly occupied by KZ’s face. Jung folded to the mat, face down. There was no doubt that he was out cold. Before the referee had time to call the fight off, the buzzer sounded. There’s no “saved by the bell” rule in MMA, though, and KZ’s reanimated husk being lifeless at the finale meant a KO victory for Yair Rodriguez, and they both take home $50,000 for one of the wildest, most action-packed fights of the year.
Attendance: 11,426
Gate: $946,706.78