After two of his Tibetan brothers fell earlier in the day, Chinese lightweight Rongzhu looked to end the day with a win.
However, an elbow from Chris Padilla would derail those dreams. The two fought at UFC Vegas 97 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
With hands held high, Rongzhu began round one aggressive and stalking his American opponent. The power of Rongzhu was on display, hitting Padilla with a straight right and counter hooks. Both fighters were looking to trade hard, chopping low throughout round one, searching for that big knockout shot. A clean jab from Padilla made it through the guard of Rongzhu as the two reached a stalemoat. With forty-five seconds left in round one, Rongzhu threw a heavy combination on his man, which was barely out of range.
The two lightweights picked up the pace in round two, clinching and trading knees and punches the body. A big overhand right from Padilla slammed into the temple of Rongzhu hard, but the Road to UFC lightweight winner was unphased. A massive elbow from Padilla drew the protest of Rongzhu, who claimed an eye poke. Referee Kerry Hatley declined caused the fight, with Rongzhu blinking hard. Rongzhu did his best to clinch up and didn't take much more damage at the time.
However, a separation of the fighters revealed how bad the damage was to the eye of Rongzhu: it had blown up to a golf ball-size and swiftly prompted the intervention of the cageside doctor. This fight wasn't meant to continue and the heartbreak was strong for Enbo Fight's Rongzhu, who dropped his second UFC debut at 4:14 of round two.
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