Yair Rodriguez segrade stort under nattens gala när han lyckades knocka den forne tvåviktsmästaren B.J. Penn i andra ronden. Det här hade mexikanen att säga om sin sin största seger i karriären och vad de två sa till varandra efter matchen:
I was ready to die to win tonight, and thanks God, I won against a legend, B.J. Penn.
I talked to him after the fight and he said, ‘hey man, no disrespect, this is part of the game. I just said all that stuff because it’s part of the strategy, no disrespect.’ I told him, hey man, listen, I know it’s part of the strategy. We all do the same thing in different way, so I’m not mad at you, he’s not mad at me. I respect him even more right now, now that I’ve fought him. I know he’s a legend. He’s a powerful guy, and I’m pretty happy to have the victory tonight.
Rodriguez tycker även att matchen stoppades i tid av domaren John McCarthy, efter kritik från många som ansåg domaren borde ha ingripit tidigare.
I don’t think [it was a late stoppage], and less with a guy like B.J. He’s a legend. When I started punching him on the ground, he was moving. I saw him moving. So I was actually being careful of him throwing up an [upkick] or grabbing me with a submission. I moved and I started hitting him again, and whenever I saw the referee stopping the fight, it was just an amazing moment. But I don’t think they should’ve stopped the fight before.
