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Gregory Rodrigues just put the middleweight division on notice. At UFC Vegas 86, he took on the notoriously tough Brad Tavares, TKO'ing him in round three. With nothing to lose, the Brazilian stormed forward and began swinging with ill intent before backing his foe into the fence.
Once he had Tavares sandwiched between him and the cage, Rodrigues unleashed a punishing combination, stunning Tavares with a knee from which the Hawaiian 185-pounder never recovered. After eating several follow-up punches, Tavares covered up and stopped defending himself intelligently.
Check out Gregory Rodrigues knocking out Brad Tavares:
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The referee stepped in, awarding Rodrigues the win. The response online was overwhelmingly positive. One fan even likened the Brazilian to his fellow countryman Alex Pereira's TKO win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 281:
"Shades of poatan izzy"
Another fan could not hide how impressed they were with Rodrigues' thunderous performance:
"He was very impressive tonight"
Others pointed out how powerful Rodrigues looked, given how difficult Tavares is to finish:
"Dude is a monster"
Some comments though, were more humorous, with one of them referencing the Brazilian's supposed physical resemblance to former United States president Barack Obama:
"Gave that man the whole White House and a drink at the door."
Check out a collage of fan reactions below:
The win marks a return to form for Rodrigues, who has now won two consecutive bouts, as he had previously knocked out Denis Tiuliulin. Throughout his career, 'Robocop' has been a consistent finisher, having only won via decision twice in 15 wins.
Given Tavares' reputation as a longtime middleweight and litmus test for others, even former champions like Robert Whittaker, the win may very well propel the Brazilian into ranked territory come the rankings reshuffling on Tuesday. If he hopes to one day work his way into the top 10, he must remain on this path.
