Daniel Rodriguez’s heavy hands and frequent leg kicks helped him get the better of Kevin Lee on the scorecards tonight at UFC On ESPN 30 by unanimous decision.
Round One:
Body kick from Lee and a grazing punch. Now a leg kick. Rodriguez with a jab and lee pumps out his own jab in response.
inside leg kick from Rodriguez and Lee with a body kick counter. Both men land a punch. Another inside leg kick from Rodriguez.
Head kick attempt from Lee. Inside leg kick again from Rodriguez and then an outside leg kick from Lee.
Again the inside kick from Rodriguez. Rodriguez went for a high kick and Lee grazes him with a punch.
Big head kick from Lee. Brief clinch and then out. Rodriguez with a punch and then back to the leg kick.
Solid right hand from Lee. Exchange of punches in close briefly. Lee into a takedown attempts in the center of the Octagon and lands it.
Lee in half-guard here and being patient as he stays in tight to Rodriguez. A couple of hammerfists for him. Now an elbow, but mostly just maintaining position here before landing a few more punches as the round ends. Both men jawing at each other on the mat as they get back up afterwards.
Round Two:
Body kick to start for Lee. Leg kick from Rodriguez. Body punch from Lee. Two-piece for Rodriguez to the head and then a leg kick.
Body kick from Rodriguez. Lee with a head kick attempt. Rodriguez with a lengthy jab. Body punch for him now. Light one-two and then an inside leg kick.
Right hand for Lee and then into a takedown attempt. Rodriguez appears to stuff it initially, but then he turns, gets the angle he needs and does secure top position in side control.
Lee looking to secure this dominant position, but Rodriguez is able to turn into him and get on top. However, Lee soon manages to work his way back up and they go back to striking range.
Rodriguez lands a strike. Inside leg kick for him. Jab from D-Rod. He lands the inside leg kick and then clips Lee with a punch too.
Right hook and a leg kick for Rodriguez. Jab from Lee. D-Rod with a punch, Lee with a leg kick. Another leg kick from Rodriguez, but Lee lands a grazing punch.
left hand from Rodriguez and Lee shakes his head. Lee with a body punch. leg kick for Rodriguez, punch from Lee, but then Rodriguez lands a left hand to the temple and Lee is staggered and wobbles backwards for a moment, then regroups and dives all-in on a takedown to buy himself time to recover, which pays off and enables him to make it to the end of the round.
Round Three:
Body kick for Lee. Jab for D-Rod. Back to the leg kick for Rodriguez. Two more straight lefts for Rodriguez. Now two inside leg kicks in a row.
Back to the left hand. Inside leg kick. Lee attempts the takedown and Rodriguez stuffs it, then lands a left hand as they get back up.
Body kick for Lee. Jab for Rodriguez. More jabs as he keeps distance, then a leg kick. Leg kick from Lee knocks D-Rod off-balance for a moment, and that also gives him an opportunity to work for a takedown.
Crucial moment and Lee is able to hoist Rodriguez up in the air and bring him down. Lee in half-guard, but Rodriguez is trying hard to get back up. He doesn’t at the first attempt, but shortly afterwards does stand.
However, Lee is still clinched to his back. Rodriguez is able to shrug him off though and get back to striking range.
Lee misses a punch and Rodriguez lands a one-two in response. Now he lands the leg kick. Lee tries for a flying knee but misses.
Jab for D-Rod. 90 seconds to go. Two right hands for Lee. Rodriguez sends out the jab and Lee ducks into a takedown that’s stuffed.
Light punches from both men. Lee ducks under a big punch. Body kick for Lee. leg kick for Rodriguez and then a head kick attempt.
Straight left for D-Rod. Leg kick for Lee. He steps into a big punch and misses wildly.
Leg kick for Lee. Rodriguez with punches and Lee launches an overhand. Head kick attempt from Lee. Rodriguez swings big. Lee walks away in the final seconds then returns to throw one final big punch that doesn’t quite find the target.
Decision:
Competitive fight then, with Lee having some success with his wrestling at times, but Rodriguez was clearly winning the striking battle and was also stuffing some of his takedown attempts as the fight went on, which helps him to a unanimous decision victory (29-28 x3).
