Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens Will Run It Back After There First Bout Ended In No-Contest At UFC Mexico City
Waiting for Yair Rodriguez vs Jeremy Stephens to get re-booked is already a thought of the past. Rescheduled for UFC Boston on October 18th, the men will finally get a chance to settle their differences. Breaking the news was ESPN’s Brett Okamoto via Twitter.
Breaking: Yair Rodriguez (@panteraufc) vs. Jeremy Stephens (@LiLHeathenMMA) is being re-booked as the co-main event for UFC Fight Night on Oct. 18 in Boston, per UFC president Dana White. pic.twitter.com/2wlpvBOGFI
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 25, 2019
Settling their differences didn’t happen at UFC Mexico City last week. An unfortunate eye poke delivered by Yair 15 seconds into the bout made Stephens unable to continue in the match. Booing fans threw beer and popcorn at Stephens, even after using his 5 minutes of recovery time to try and continue the match.
Fueling the Animosity
Believing that Stephens was able to continue but chose the easy way out is what angered Yair. He also said that if proof were to surface that Jeremy’s injury was severe, that he would apologize publicly and take back all of his words.
Meanwhile, Stephens has been hellbent on getting the rematch. Even from the hospital, Stephens released a short video telling Yair to ‘run it back.’ Also, he spoke about never turning down any fights and highlighted how Yair was previously cut from the UFC for turning down bouts.
Continuing the animosity, video footage of both men surfaced on social media. In a hotel hallway, Stephens was spotted shoving Yair and then both men yelled at each other until the went their separate ways.
While the video wasn’t designed to be released, it’s possible that it aided in the process of re-booking the match quickly. Nonetheless, the video at the very minimum kept fans interested in the budding feud.
UFC Boston
Not only is the bout rescheduled, but it’s also expected to be the co-main event. UFC Boston’s card is on its way to being one of one most complete cards of the year. The card also features the light heavyweight debut of Chris Weidman. Also, a battle of streaking prospects will take place between UFC Women’s Flyweights Maycee Barber and Gillian Robertson.
Now that the rematch is official, who do fans believe will get redemption? Let us know in the comments below.
