“That’s inspirational stuff right there, man.”
That was cageside announcer Paul Felder’s assessment of Gregory Rodrigues’ performance in the immediate aftermath of his UFC Fight Night 210 bout with Chidi Njokuani, and he couldn’t be more right about the second-round TKO win for “Robocop” in their middleweight bout.
Rodrigues (13-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was in serious trouble after a perfectly timed knee from Njokuani (22-8 MMA, 2-1 UFC) rocked him in the first round and opened up a nasty gash between his eyes. Rodrigues managed to survive a slugfest, though, but he was still in danger of losing after the cageside doctor told referee Marc Smith to have a short leash in stopping the fight because of the cut.
The cut on Gregory Rodrigues' nose. 😫#UFCVegas60 | Play-by-play: https://t.co/Zyte58YEH2 pic.twitter.com/GHpk11bSur
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 18, 2022
Not to worry. Once Rodrigues got the fight to the mat early in the second round, that signaled the beginning of the end for Njokuani – and an incredible comeback for Rodrigues.
Check out the finishing sequence below (via Twitter):
WHAT A COMEBACK 👏 #UFCVEGAS60 pic.twitter.com/lIrFPnZpq4
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 18, 2022
“I know one thing: I’m born for this,” Rodrigues told Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview in the octagon. “Doesn’t matter, man. You need to kill me.”
Rodrigues now has back-to-back wins and has won six of his past seven. Njokuani, meanwhile, had his four-fight overall winning streak snapped, and it was his first UFC loss since joining the promotion last year through Dana White’s Contender Series.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 210.
