UFC Fight of the Year Contender

Monster Energy’s Yair ‘El Pantera’ Rodriguez lands buzzer-beater elbow at 4:59 of Round 5, knocking Chan Sung Jung “The Korean Zombie,” cold in the main event of UFC Fight Night 139 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, which was live and free on Fox Sports 1. Teammate Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone also made history in the co-main welterweight division when he armbarred Mike Perry in the first round to become the all-time leader in wins (21) and finishes (15). Both Rodriguez and Cerrone won bonuses for their performances of the night. Rodriguez’s last second KO and Cerrone’s dramatic finish when he submitted Perry in round one.

Celebrating UFC’s silver anniversary where it all started 25 years earlier, Rodriguez and Jung put on an absolute show and went to war for almost five grueling rounds delivering fans one of the most memorable fights of the year. But it was Rodriguez who ended things with a bang, delivering a brutal reverse elbow that sent Jung straight to the canvas in literally the final second of the fight. The victory represented a triumphant return for Rodriguez who filled in for injured Frankie Edgar as a last-second replacement after a year-and-a-half hiatus following a TKO loss to Edgar at UFC 211.

After trading blow for blow for almost 25 minutes, Rodriguez unleashed an unorthodox reverse elbow from a unique angle that caught the “Korean Zombie” flush on his chin and put him to sleep.

Afterwards, Rodriguez fell to the ground in exhaustion and said he had injured his foot in the first round from a kick he threw. He said the title shot will be there eventually, and the only thing he cares about is showing up for his family and putting food on the table. There is also talk about a possible fight with Zabit Magomedsharipov.