Yair Rodriguez Scores Epic Last Second Knockout Against ‘The Korean Zombie’
Yair Rodriguez scored arguably one of the greatest — and most shocking — knockouts in history with his fifth round finish against ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung to cap off the UFC’s 25th anniversary card in Denver.
The end came after nearly 25 minutes where Rodriguez and Jung were just battering each other with punches, kicks and everything in between in what was already guaranteed to earn ‘Fight of the Night’ honors.
What resulted in the final exchange of the fight will undoubtedly be a part of UFC highlight reels for years to come.
Following a back and forth battle through the first four rounds with Jung getting the better of the majority of exchanges, it looked like he was cruising towards a unanimous decision victory.
‘The Korean Zombie’ was landing with better accuracy and volume while also bloodying Rodriguez up with a heavy-duty boxing attack where he was continuously head hunting over all five rounds.
Not to be outdone, Rodriguez definitely stuck around as he targeted Jung’s lead leg with a series of kicks and kept keeping the veteran featherweight on his toes with a series of spin moves and flashy kicks that always seemed just inches away from landing.
Finally in the fifth round with Jung seemingly in control, the two fighters high fived each other on the middle of the cage and when the clapper sounded to signify only 10 seconds remaining it appeared the fight was all but over.
That’s when Jung made the ill-fated mistake of jumping in for one last combination as Rodriguez ducked under his punches and came back with an upward elbow that absolutely demolished the former featherweight title contender.
1 second left… No better way to go out on the 25th Anniversary! pic.twitter.com/aGg1Z0bAeO
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 11, 2018
Jung crumbled face first to the mat as the referee swooped into stop the fight with the end coming at exactly 4:59 into the fifth and final round tying Demetrious Johnson’s last second win over Kyoji Horiguchi as the latest finish in UFC history.
Following the end of the fight, Rodriguez revealed that he was walking on what was likely a broken foot suffered in the opening round but he somehow still managed to throw kicks throughout all five rounds until earning the last second finish.
As far as what comes next, Rodriguez wasn’t looking to call anybody out but after accepting this fight on short notice and pulling off the win the way he did, he’ll likely have his pick of opponents in the near future.
“I just want whoever Sean Shelby and Dana White want to give me next,” Rodriguez said. “I know the title shot is going to be there eventually. The only thing I care about from now on is being happy every moment that I have. Being able to do what I love in the biggest company in the world is something I appreciate. Thank you so much, Colorado. I love you guys.”
Rodriguez was also rewarded for his victory with a $100,000 bonus including $50,000 for ‘Fight of the Night’ as well as another $50,000 for ‘Performance of the Night’ for his stunning finish against Jung on Saturday night.
