Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
According to Jeremy Stephens, the tension with Yair Rodriguez stemming from UFC Mexico’s outcome spilled over in a hotel.
Both Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens didn’t like how their UFC Mexico headliner fight transpired. It all ended inside 15 seconds of action when an eye poke from Rodriguez rendered Stephens unable to continue, resulting in a No Contest verdict.
“El Pantera” was livid with the outcome, which also made him question the authenticity of “Lil’ Heathen’s” eye injury in a post-fight interview. Stephens later fired back, calling for an immediate rematch.
It apparently didn’t end in that back-and-forth exchange via interviews and social media. According to Stephens, he almost came to blows with Rodriguez in a hotel after the event.
“I’m not from karate school, bro, I’m from the street.”@LiLHeathenMMA describes a hotel run in with Yair Rodriguez after the eye poke (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/W7Qtt55N1n
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 23, 2019
“He comes up all cordial, giving a thumbs up,” Stephens recalled during Monday’s episode of the Ariel Helwani MMA Show (transcript by BJPenn.com). “He’s like ‘Hey everything ok?’ He comes up, shakes my hand, trying to be a gentleman…
“Then he starts talking sh-t to me. I’m like ‘I’m not from karate school. bro, I’m from the street. I’m here to compete, I’m here to fight, I’m here to kill you.’”
It was then when Stephens said things almost got out of hand, if not for the intervention of Rodriguez’s companions at the time.
“Right away my mentality was ‘back the f—k up,’ so I shoved him. His coaches, his Dad, his parents and everybody was like ‘whoa, whoa whoa.’ I know his sister has footage,” he said. “I’m waiting for them to release that footage but I guarantee they’re not going to release it, cause he looked like a coward there, coming up.
“I thought he was trying to be a gentleman, unfortunately that wasn’t it. He wants to talk and say anything? I don’t know Yair, he doesn’t know me, but I’m not like that. I’m not gonna let you come up and talk sh-t, especially after you eye-poked me.”
Prior to UFC Mexico, Stephens was on a two-fight skid, losing to Jose Aldo and Zabit Magomedsharipov, respectively.