Jeremy Stephens and Jair Rodriguez Have Heated Hotel Exchange
Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens were captured on video arguing with each other. The pair seem to visibly hate each other. Especially after their lackluster main event that resulted in a no-contest in 15 seconds due to an eye poke.
During the match, Yair poked Stephens in the eye and because of that, he was unable to continue in the fight. Even with the allotted recovery time of 5 minutes, Stephens wasn’t able to open his eye. The crowd booed at the uneventful result of the bout and even threw beer and popcorn on Stephens as he exited the arena.
During the post-fight press conferences, Yair explained to the media that he believed Stephens could continue. He downplayed the injury as not being as severe as Jeremy made it out to be. Stephens, on the other hand, is itching to get back the octagon against Yair. He even posted a video from the hospital calling out Yair for his comments about the injury.
Leaked Video Footage
Video footage has leaked of Yair and Stephens arguing in a hotel after the fight occurred. It’s not certain how the footage was acquired, but the video can be seen below:
The one minute clip (from IndiscutidoLA on Youtube) lasted longer than the actual fight between both Stephens and Yair at UFC Mexico City.
In the footage, Stephens can be shown shoving Yair in the hotel lobby. After that, words were exchanged that are better off left untyped. Let’s just say, Yair had choice words for how ‘manly’ he believed Stephens to be after the eye poke injury.
Staying true to his statement in the hospital video, during the altercation Stephens simply told Yair to rematch him. Honestly, the captured footage drew a lot of parallels to their actual fight. Relatively short and uneventful.
Stephens Details the Incident
Stephens spoke about the incident on the Helwani MMA Show. He detailed his perception of how Yair appeared to approach Stephens like a gentleman before he became hostile.
“I was bringing down my bags, checking my bags. So we were going to go grab some food and we were taking off. He comes up all cordial, gives me a thumbs up and is like ‘Everything okay?’ He comes up and shakes my hand and trying to be a gentleman, I get it. Then he starts talking shit to me,” said Jeremy
Setting Up The Rematch
Leaking of the footage could shake up the internet. Fans could potentially become invested in the rematch understanding that the two have genuine animosity towards each other. While the argument was not intended to the filmed, the UFC could use it in their favor to promote the rematch.
But, do fans want to see the rematch? Or, do fans feel like its best both men go their separate ways? Let us know in the comments below.
