Gregory Rodrigues vs. Jared Cannonier squared off in a Middleweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Feb. 15, 2025) at UFC Vegas 102 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In an awesome fight, Cannonier rallied late to secure the stoppage.
Despite Cannonier being the former Heavyweight, “Robo Cop” towered over his opponent to start the contest. The two began trading kicks, and Rodrigues scored with a pair of early right hand connections. Cannonier returned the favor with an overhand of his own, and within a minute, it felt like the odds of this bout seeing the judges’ scorecards were rather low.
A second later, Rodrigues floored Cannonier with a 1-2 for a brief moment. Cannonier used the clinch to recover, but Rodrigues kept his foot on the gas when able to break apart. The Brazilian dug a liver hook then scored a brief takedown. Twice, Rodrigues landed heavy counters in response to Cannonier low kicks. Cannonier kept moving and firing back, but he was taking a lot of shots. Somehow, he scored a takedown of his own and survived the opening frame.
Cannonier appeared the fresher man early in round two, landing a couple good right hands and a low kick. Rodrigues was moving backwards much more too. Even as “Robo Cop” began to stand his ground and fire back more, Cannonier’s low kicks were starting to land at a good rate. Both men were landing well, but Rodrigues’ sagging hand position was a little concerning. All told, it was a strong bounce back round for the former title challenger.
Rodrigues looked to have recovered well between rounds and was throwing with a bit more snap again to start the third. The “Killa Gorilla” low kicks were bothering him still, however. “Robo Cop” worked behind the jab well. Cannonier jabbed well too, but when Rodrigues pressed, it felt like his shots were landing with a great impact. Cannonier landed a nice overhand on the counter. A step-in Rodrigues elbow backed Cannonier off. The entire round was utter chaos, as both men landed strikes that fell most other UFC Middleweights. Then, Cannonier made a statement in the final 10 seconds, flooring Rodrigues with a huge elbow and nearly stopping the fight.
Cannonier came out in the fourth swinging for the finish immediately, and a body shot broke his foe down! Rodrigues’ legs still seemed gone, and it wasn’t long before he crumbled beneath the onslaught.
Not only was this a killer fight, it was an awesome display of heart and skill by Cannonier. He spent most of the first round getting battered around the ring and fought his way back into the contest. Even in round three, he was taking really hard shots up until that elbow, which essentially finished the fight even if the official stoppage was a couple minutes later. Winning this type of gritty war against a younger opponent is no easy task, and “Killa Gorilla” deserves all the respect for gutting through the tough moments and persevering for the victory.
Result: Cannonier defeats Rodrigues via knockout
For complete UFC Vegas 102 results and play-by-play, click here.