Middleweights Gregory Rodrigues and Julian Marquez brought explosive potential with them to the octagon at UFC Austin.
Marquez had won two straight, while Rodrigues, a.k.a. “Robocop,” was coming off the first loss of his UFC tenure. What had the excitement factor high on Saturday, however, was Rodrigues boasting four knockouts in his last five wins, while Marquez had a 100% finish rate across his own nine victories as a pro.
Explosive was an understatement by the time the dust had settled at Saturday’s electrifying UFC Austin card.
Early on, Rodrigues found a home for his right hand several times. Straight rights and hooks both seemed to land, and just 90 seconds into the fight, “Robocop” dropped his opponent! With Marquez on his knees, Rodrigues fired punch after punch, then climbed the back and threatened to choke.
Marquez used the cage to take some of the weight off, and Rodrigues came off the back. But he was still walking Marquez down, landing an uppercut and several more attacks. Moments later, he dropped Marquez again! Somehow, Marquez survived, and got back up while eating a storm of elbows! Marquez fired back, and they went at it in a game of Rock ’em, Sock ’em Robots until someone finally fell down. In this case, it was Marquez, dropped for the final time with a right hand placed behind the ear.
The card that keeps on giving 🤯🤯🤯🤯 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/9iAuQ8cJqp
— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2022
On a night full of thunderous finishes and exciting fights, Rodrigues stood out— and is back in the win column.
Official Result: Gregory Rodrigues def. Julian Marquez by knockout, Round 1, 3:18
