Daniel Rodriguez came out on the winning end of a wild one-round fight with Dwight Grant on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 15.
In an action-packed welterweight bout that’s likely to hold up as a “Round of the Year” contender, Rodriguez (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) produced a thrilling rally against Grant (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) for the first-round TKO at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Grant came out of the gate extremely strong and hurt Rodriguez badly. He was swarming, causing referee Chris Tognoni to vocalize multiple warnings to keep moving. Rodriguez did enough to stay in it, then when he got back up, the momentum changed.
Rodriguez landed a hard shot that staggered Grant then applied the pressure. He landed multiple powerful shots against Grant, who tried to persevere. He couldn’t keep upright from a final strike, though, and the referee stepped in at the 2:24 mark of Round 1 to conclude a thrilling affair.
Check out the replay below (via Twitter):
With the win, Rodriguez joined Merab Dvalishvili and Youssef Zalal as the lone fighters to win three times in the UFC in 2020.
UFC on ESPN 15 video: Daniel Rodriguez TKOs Dwight Grant in 'Round of the Year' contender
