Daniel Rodriguez narrowly managed to secure a split decision win over Li Jingliang at UFC 279 that really could have gone either way.
Round One:
Rodriguez with a jab. Inside leg kick for Jingliang. Rodriguez wades in with a punch and Jingliang looks to fire back aggressively.
Body kick for Rodriguez. Now a body kick for Jingliang. Inside leg kick for D-Rod. Reaching right hgand from Jingliang and then a solid body kick.
Jab for Rodriguez. Outside leg kick from him. Leg kick from Jingliang too. Jab for Rodriguez. Nice one-two for Jingliang. Now a body kick for him.
Solid body kick for Rodriguez and then misses on a spinning backfist. Body kick for Jingliang. Head kick attempt from D-Rod comes off Jingliang’s guard with an audible noise.
D-Rod presses forward but Jingliang meets him with a punch. Inside leg kick followed by a nice punch upstairs for Rodriguez.
Jingliang misses with a spinning attack and D-Rod punishes him for it with a short flurry of strikes.
D-Rod with a body punch. He tries a push kick, but Jingliang catches it and Rodriguez stumbles to the mat for a moment. Hard kick for Jingliang.
Stomping kick to the knee from Jingliang as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
Low kick from D-Rod. Now a left hand from him too. Winging punch over the top from Jingliang. Grazing right hook for Rodriguez.
Front kick to the body from Jingliang is partially caught. Jab for D-Rod. Now a leg kick and Jingliang dishes one back at him.
Another leg kick for Rodriguez. Straight right for Jingliang. Jingliang with a body punch. Now one upstairs. Back to the body now. Rodriguez lands the jab.
Inside leg kick for Jingliang. Body punch for Rodriguez. Inside leg kick from him. Outside one for Jingliang.
Left hand for Jingliang and a solid jab in response from Rodriguez. They exchange leg kicks. Solid calf kick for Rodriguez.
Another leg kick from D-Rod as Jingliang threatens with a punch. They both swing big at the same time and just miss each other.
Inside leg kick from Rodriguez. Body kick for Rodriguez, leg kick for Jingliang. Inside leg kick from Jingliang.
Calf kicks for Jingliang and then tries a punch upstairs. Rodriguez with a brief flurry, but Jingliang tags him with a harder punch that backs him up for a moment.
Head kick attempt from Jingliang. Another calf kick for Rodriguez. Jab from D-Rod. Head kick from Rodriguez seemed to blast Jingliang through his guard, but he then knocks Rodriguez off-balance to the mat as the round ends.
Round Three:
Inside leg kick for D-Rod and a body punch from Jingliang. Reaching left hand for Jingliang. Now a calf kick for him.
Jab for D-Rod. He lands it again. Inside leg kick from Jingliang is checked. Body punch from Jingliang. Jabs again from Rodriguez.
Jingliang lands the jab. Right hand from Jingliang. Body kick from Rodriguez, leg kick for Jingliang. One-two for Rodriguez as Jingliang also lands a grazing punch.
Stepping jab for Rodriguez. Hook from Jingliang. Back to the jab from D-Rod. Body work from Jingliang but then eats the jab from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez rips to the body. Inside leg kick for D-Rod. Winging hooks from Jingliang. Lots of head movement from Jingliang, but D-Rod does land a jab again.
Outside leg kick for Rodriguez. Counter right hand for Jingliang. Jingliang tries to target the body with punches but gets caught by a punch from Rodriguez.
More jab work from Rodriguez. Jingliang on the back foot more now. D-Rod attempts a head kick that misses. Right hand from Jingliang and another solid jab from Rodriguez as the round comes to a close.
Decision:
A competitive fight then fought at a solid pace without either man managing to really hurt the other significantly. So inevitably this was going to be a close one on the scorecards and in the end though Jingliang looked a bit more active in the first couple of rounds it’s Rodriguez with his solid jab work in particular who narrowly edges out a split decision win (29-28 x2, 28-29).
