UFC Mexico’s headliner featherweight fight between top ten contenders Yair Rodrguez and Jeremy Stephens was met by major disappointment. After Rodriguez accidentally poked Stephens in the eye in just 15 seconds of action, the fight was ruled a No Contest when “Li’l Heathen” was unable to continue.
The damage was apparently so severe, that the 33-year-old fighter remained in pain in the locker room after the fight. As reported by ESPN’s Heidi Androl who spoke with coach Eric Del Fierro, Stephens was still unable to open the damaged eye.
According to coach @EricDelFierro, @LiLHeathenMMA “still has not been able to open that eye” and will likely be sent to an emergency ophthalmologist (via @HeidiAndrol) pic.twitter.com/g9CZlHnzLI
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 22, 2019
The exact injury has yet to be made clear, but as Androl adds, Stephens claimed he felt “tremendous pressure he’s never felt before.” He is also likely to be sent to an emergency ophthalmologist for further examination.
The 33-year-old Stephens entered the fight on a two-fight skid, first losing to former long-time featherweight champion Jose Aldo via first-round TKO in July 2018. It was followed by a unanimous decision loss to Zabit Magomedsharipov at UFC 235 in March.
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