An eyepoke from Yair Rodriguez just 15 seconds into the main event this evening at UFC Fight Night 159 left Jeremy Stephens unable to continue, resulting in a no-contest ruling.
Round One:
The main event is underway in Mexico City!
Rodriguez with a leg kick and now another to the body. However then he swipes his hand out and that causes an eyepoke that forces a stoppage while Stephens recovers just seconds into the fight.
There’s an expectation that Stephens will continue, but then he tells referee Herb Dean that “he caught me good.”
Dean then tells an octagon-side doctor that Stephens eye is “spasming.” The doctor comes over and Stephens eye remains closed. Dean urges the doctor to give stephens more time for his eye to “relax.”
“He got me good,” Stephens repeats.
Dean still in charge here and saying that they are going to give Stephens the full five minutes to recover, but he only has 90 more seconds to recover, so it’s not looking good.
Stephens with his hands on the top of the cage trying to recover, but looking disheartened and still in obvious distress. They give him a towel to press into his eye.
The doctor is trying to open his eye again, but it’s just not happening and with the five minutes up Dean finally calls an end to the fight.
The crowd are furious and they start throwing bottles into the Octagon, leading to announcer Brendon Fitzgerald climbing under the desk in the commentary booth, while Michael Bisping refuses to follow suit and claims he’s been hit with a bottle of Modelo.
The fight is officially declared a no-contest after 15 seconds.
