Gillian Robertson scored another submission stoppage earlier tonight (Sat., April 15, 2023) at UFC Kansas City live on ESPN and ESPN+ from inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, when “Savage” stopped previously undefeated Piera Rodriguez with a controversial “verbal” armbar tap in the second round.
Robertson was looking to grapple from the second this “Prelims” affair started. Rodríguez tried her best and found some success in the early going, but Robertson was relentless in her attempt to drag the action to the canvas. In Round 2, “Savage” found exactly what she was looking for after Rodriguez made a mistake on the ground and Robertson locked up the armbar attempt.
Rodriguez seemed to tap, but the action continued for a few seconds longer. That’s when the referee stepped in to stop the action as he believed Rodriguez verbally tapped. While the initial tap was seen on replay Rodriguez still protested the verbal stoppage. Even Robertson didn’t know what happened, but she had won so what did she care.
Check out the final moments below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:
The armbar gets it done for Gillian Robertson in round two #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/dfmPVXkeNP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 15, 2023
Piera Rodriguez claims she did not tappic.twitter.com/5l08RKXM4K
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) April 15, 2023
Robertson, 27, captures her seventh UFC submission finish with this win and pushes her record to 3-1 in her last four Octagon trips. Rodriguez was undefeated entering this fight and seemed to have a complete game, but Robertson continues to show she has some of the best grappling in women’s mixed martial arts today.
For complete UFC Kansas City results and coverage click here.