UFC legend Daniel Cormier was left stunned by what appeared to be illegal strikes as Gregory Rodrigues brutally knocked out Denis Tiuliulin.
A series of vicious elbows from Rodrigues slept Tiluliulin in the first round of their prelim bout after the former had secured the takedown and got into full mount position.
UFC 292 | SUN AUG 20: UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will look to cement himself as one of the greatest bantamweight’s in UFC history as he faces Sean O’Malley. ORDER ON MAIN EVENT ON KAYO SPORTS >
If the first elbow didn’t render Tiuliulin unconscious, then Rodrigues’ second elbow certainly did as the referee jumped in to wave off the contest.
However, slow-mo replays showed Rodrigues’ first elbow on the ground looked to have been slightly illegal as it caught Tiuliulin in the back of his head.
“That one looked behind the head,” Cormier said on commentary.
“From that angle, that looked a little behind the head.”
Another replay of the incident was shown and it only reaffirmed Cormier’s belief.
“Uh, yeah Jon (Anik), that’s an illegal strike,” Cormier said.
The former UFC champion also felt Tiuliulin would be well within his rights to protest the result.
“The reality is, it looked illegal,” Cormier said.
“From that angle, it was an illegal shot that started the finish.
“If I’m Dennis Tiuliulin and I’m going 1-3 in my UFC career, I’m protesting. It might save my job.”
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CONTENDER’S ABSURD WEIGHT GAIN EXPLAINED
Sean O’Malley had fight fans a little perplexed when he stepped onto the scales at 157.4lbs just hours after he had weighed in for his UFC bantamweight title clash against Aljamain Sterling.
O’Malley and Sterling’s title bout is the headline act at UFC 292 in Boston, with UFC strawweight champ Zhang Weili putting her belt on the line against Amanda Lemos in the co-main event.
The weight limit for bantamweights is 135lbs, which both O’Malley and Sterling made to ensure their fight would be official.
But the duo’s remarkable weight gain in the time after the weigh-in certainly caught the attentions of fight fans.
Sterling posted an update where he was at “144.4 (lbs) and climbing,” but it is O’Malley’s gain that left several a little confused.
The 28-year-old uploaded a video on social media that showed him on the scales with a weight of 157.4lbs.
However, the camera quickly panned up and showed O’Malley holding a case of Happy Dad, an American seltzer.
But one MMA fan worked out how much O’Malley actually weighed by calculating the weight of a Happy Dad case.
MAIN CARD (12pm AEST)
Aljamain Sterling (c) v Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight title
Zhang Weili (c) v Amanda Lemos for the strawweight title
Ian Machado Garry v Neil Magny
Da’Mon Blackshear def by Mario Bautista via UD (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
Marlon Vera def Pedro Munhoz via UD (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
PRELIMS (10am AEST)
Chris Weidman def by Brad Tavares via UD (30-27 x 3)
Gregory Rodrigues def Denis Tiuliulin via KO in Round 1
Austin Hubbard def by Kurt Holobaugh via submission in Round 2
Brad Katona def Cody Gibson via UD (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
EARLY PRELIMS
Andre Petroski def Gerald Meerschaert via SD (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Natalia Silva def Andrea Lee via UD (30-27 x 3)
Karine Silva def Maryna Moroz via submission in Round 1
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