Best and worst from UFC Fight Night 159: Rodriguez vs. Stephens

Last night's main event between Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez ended in sheer disappointment
Last night's main event between Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez ended in sheer disappointment

The UFC made its latest visit to Mexico last night, and after a largely fun card, the show ended in probably the worst way possible as the main event between Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens was stopped after a matter of seconds – more on that later.

The main card in particular – until the main event – was tremendous fun though, meaning this was arguably one of 2019’s most fun Fight Night shows, even if some odd judging reared its head again.

Here are the best and worst moments of UFC Fight Night 159: Rodriguez vs. Stephens.


#1 Best: Steven Peterson’s awesome spinning backfist

Steven Peterson's KO of Martin Bravo was an all-time classic
Steven Peterson's KO of Martin Bravo was an all-time classic

Since joining the UFC in early 2018, Steven Peterson had made a name for himself as a reliable brawler with an iron chin.

He’d also made a name for himself as a fighter who perhaps wasn’t quite good enough for the elite level of the UFC, but thankfully for ‘Ocho’, with the amount of shows the UFC puts on these days, being exciting is usually enough for the promotion to keep a fighter around.

Last night though, things may have changed for him. Faced with Martin Bravo – an opponent largely on a similar level to him – Peterson was the favourite to win with most observers, but nobody expected him to uncork a contender for Knockout of the Year.

But that’s what Peterson did. Early in the second round, Bravo threw a spinning back elbow at ‘Ocho’, who countered with a picture-perfect spinning backfist, knocking the Mexican out instantly.

Sure, Peterson’s follow-up hammer fists to the unconscious Bravo weren’t needed, but at this stage we’re all used to stuff like that. Will this knockout turn Peterson into a contender at 145lbs? Most likely not, but it gives him a highlight reel KO for the ages and one that makes his entire UFC career worth it. Was he the biggest winner of the night? In my mind, for sure.

#1 Worst: The main event ends in the worst way possible

Jeremy Stephens was unable to continue after an early eye poke
Jeremy Stephens was unable to continue after an early eye poke

Coming into this show everyone was salivating over the Featherweight main event between action stars Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens.

The crowd in the Mexico City Arena clearly bought into it, treating Rodriguez as a returning hero while booing Stephens out of the building. Unfortunately, not only did we not get the exciting action we expected, but we also got one of the worst main event finishes in UFC history.

After finding his range early on with a front kick, Rodriguez reached out with his hand and unfortunately swiped Stephens in the eye. Referee Herb Dean called time, but Stephens – a tough veteran with 31 UFC fights to his name – simply couldn’t open his rapidly swelling eye, and after giving him the full five minutes to attempt a recovery, Dean was forced to call the fight off.

Not only was the ending hugely anticlimactic, but it also turned ugly as the Mexican fans rained debris down onto the Octagon, with one object even striking Rodriguez.

Whether this affects the UFC wanting to return to Mexico remains to be seen, but it definitely wasn’t nice to watch. Hopefully the promotion can run this fight back soon as plenty of fans – including me – still want to see it.

#2 Best: Paul Craig’s fantastic finish

Paul Craig choked out Vinicius Moreira in a great showing for the Scotsman
Paul Craig choked out Vinicius Moreira in a great showing for the Scotsman

Scotland’s Paul Craig has always been a fascinating fighter to watch at 205lbs; not the best athlete, ‘Bearjew’ has made a name for himself by picking up come-from-behind wins, as he did against dangerous foes like Kennedy Nzechukwu and Magomed Ankalaev.

Unfortunately, a fighter can’t survive like that in the UFC and with four losses in his seven Octagon outings, Craig had his back to the wall in his fight with Vinicius Moreira last night.

Incredibly though, the Scotsman pulled off probably the best showing of his UFC career to take out the Brazilian in the first round, giving us the second-best finish of the night after Steven Peterson’s spinning backfist.

After a brief grappling exchange, Craig levelled Moreira with a pair of knees to the head before dropping to submit the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert with a rear naked choke.

Not only should the win keep Craig’s head above water in the UFC for at least a few more fights, but it also showed some flashes of improvement too, as he appeared to be quicker and stronger than he’d seemed before. Can he develop into a contender now? Stranger things have happened!

#2 Worst: Weird judging mars two main card wars

The decision by two judges to not give Alexa Grasso a 10-8 third round was baffling
The decision by two judges to not give Alexa Grasso a 10-8 third round was baffling

Okay, so I’ll preface this by stating that I loved both the fight between Carla Esparza and Alexa Grasso and the one between Brandon Moreno and Askar Askarov.

All four fighters left everything they had in the Octagon, and I don’t think any of them should really come away feeling like losers today. Unfortunately, I felt the judges’ decisions marred both fights horribly and left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Firstly, the Flyweight fight between Askarov and Moreno; this was full of back-and-forth action, but in the end, I felt that Moreno surely did enough to take at least the second and third rounds, if not the first too, using his cardio, scrambling skills and aggressive striking to combat Askarov’s skilled grappling.

But the judges ended up scoring the fight a split draw – one going with the logical 30-27 for Moreno, but one going 29-28 Askarov and one with a 28-28 draw – a baffling card given neither fighter seemed to have earned a 10-8 round at any point.

The scorecards for Esparza vs. Grasso were even worse in my opinion. Esparza edged the first two rounds with her wrestling despite some high points for Grasso, but in the third round, the Mexican fighter turned up the heat and beat the former champion up on her feet before coming incredibly close to submitting her with an armbar.

Somehow though, two of the judges failed to give her a 10-8 third round, meaning Esparza was awarded a majority decision with two 29-28 cards.

In the long run these results probably won’t make much difference for any of the four fighters, but it’s still baffling how Grasso could be so dominant in the third and yet not get a 10-8 round, while Askarov was apparently awarded a 10-8 round for doing far less on the same night. Despite how far it’s come, MMA judging still has a long way to go.

#3 Best: Exciting finishes highlight the undercard

Kyle Nelson's finish of Polo Reyes was a highlight-worthy moment
Kyle Nelson's finish of Polo Reyes was a highlight-worthy moment

After some shows with largely dull prelim fights, last night’s undercard delivered massively thanks to a pair of nasty finishes to go along with Paul Craig’s highlight-worthy submission of Vinicius Moreira.

Massive kudos to both Angela Hill and Kyle Nelson for pulling these finishes out to light up the Mexican crowd.

Firstly it was Hill – who’d never finished an opponent in the Octagon despite picking up three previous victories. It appeared that trend would continue as she went into the third round of her fight with Ariane Carnelossi with a clear two-round lead, but this time ‘Overkill’ kept pressing and eventually unleashed a slashing elbow that sliced her opponent open.

The doctors took one look at the cut and waved off the fight, awarding Hill her first-ever UFC stoppage.

Nelson meanwhile was coming off a pair of pretty bad performances in his first two Octagon appearances, meaning he was likely to be cut with a loss, and faced against the tough brawler Polo Reyes it was hard to see him finding success.

Instead, he surprised everyone with pouring on the aggression, hurting Reyes with a standing elbow before leaving him out on his feet with a ferocious follow-up combination.

Will either finish be remembered come the end of 2019? Probably not, but for both Hill and Nelson, the stoppages likely mean a hell of a lot more – and they were both hugely entertaining, so how can you complain?

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Edited by Alan John