Gregory Rodrigues delivered a heroic performance at UFC Fight Night 210 after somehow surviving a massive knee, flush to the face, from Chidi Njokuani in the first round that left one of the worst cuts ever seen in the Octagon, spanning from eyebrow to eyebrow.
Not only that, but Rodrigues then went on to drop Njokuani not long afterwards and then proceeded to take him down and finish him via TKO in the round that followed.
Many were left wondering how the man known as ‘Robocop’ remained standing after that brutal blow, and at the post-fight press conference he admitted it was a major obstacle to overcome.
“I was dizzy, but it was very hard,” Rodrigues revealed at the post-fight news conference. “I was a little like, ‘Man, what happened?’ And then the blood started coming down. I was kind of blind, trying to figure out what I’m going to do.”
Luckily for Rodrigues in those disorienting moments afterwards he was able to focus in on what his corner were saying and that helped bring him back to the task at hand with even more urgency, knowing that the possibility of a doctor’s stoppage was looming large over him.
“They started talking to with me, and I was like, ‘No, no, let me calm down, and I started hearing, and started listening,’” Rodrigues said. “‘Move your legs,’ and stuff like that. And then I tried, and then I (came) back. Then I think, man, I need to start something. I need to throw my bombs, try to throw my hands to stop him a little bit. Because, after that cut man, everybody’s going to be confident, you know, try to finish the fight.
“And then I started to throw my hands to show him I was there, and still there. That’s what happened. I want to say thank you to my corner. Those guys helped me a lot.”
Rodrigues now holds a 4-1 record in the UFC, including three wins via finish and put himself firmly on the middleweight map with his headline-grabbing win on Saturday night.
