Frankie Edgar rolled over the top of Yair Rodriguez tonight at UFC 211 with a dominant display of vicious ground and pound that eventually led to the referee ruling the rising Mexican star unable to continue after the second round due to his left eye being swollen shut.
Round One:
Edgar takes the center of the Octagon and in the first exchange of punches it’s he who manages to find a home for a couple.
Little flurry of punches from Edgar and then a rapid-fire response from Rodriguez. Edgar in on a takedown attempt now and Rodriguez is doing a solid job of staying on his feet.
Edgar doggedly working on this attempt and eventually is able to hoist Rodriguez into the air and dump him to the mat. That’s bad news for the Mexican as Edgar is a strong wrestler and he starts landing some nice ground and pound from inside his guard.
Some good shots landing from Edgar as he keeps a high pace on top. Rodriguez thinks about an armbar, but Edgar is smart to that, adjusts and gets right back to peppering him with punches and the occasional elbow.
Excellent work rate from Edgar and his intensity is only increasing in the final minute of the round as he starts to tee off on him. Rodriguez now bleeding from a cut and with a rapidly swelling left eye as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
Rodriguez needs to avoid getting taken down again at all costs in the second round. He starts with a front kick to the body of Edgar.
Edgar with a flurry that bounces off of Rodriguez’s guard. Spinning kick from Rodriguez is blocked. Edgar into a takedown attempt and at the second attempt he lands it.
However, this time Rodriguez goes for a leg lock and puts Edgar in some danger. He stays calm though and despite Rodriguez trying to change things up with the kneebar, Edgar is eventually able to break free, starts landing punches to Rodriguez’s swollen eye and then takes full mount.
Rodriguez trying to scramble and is able to get Edgar back into his full guard. Rodriguez’s left eye is essentially swollen shut at this stage and it’s only going to get worse as Edgar batters down more offense.
Edgar’s ground and pound has been first-class tonight and Rodriguez is stranded in the middle of the Octagon here trying to deal with it. Edgar briefly passes guard, but then is quickly back into it again.
Edgar back into side control in the final seconds of the round. Rodriguez’s face is a mess as he stands and angrily yells at himself as he goes back to his corner.
The doctor is looking carefully at Rodriguez’s left eye inbetween rounds. A close-up shot shows that there’s no chance he can see out of it and that’s it, the doctor’s called it and the referee has waved off the fight. Edgar wins by TKO due to Rodriguez being unable to continue.
That was a completely one-sided beatdown that takes the wind out of Rodriguez’s sails, but shows that even at 35, after all his years of fighting at the highest level, Frankie Edgar is still on top of his game.
