UFC Vegas 121 witnessed a thrilling start tonight at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, with the opening fight ending in a devastating first-round finish. However, the closing sequence left fans fuming after the winner kneed her concussed opponent after the bout ended.
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Mexico’s Yazmin Jauregui returned to the Octagon following a two-year hiatus because of a knee injury to face Vanessa Demopoulos in the opening prelim bout. Despite returning to competition after such a long layoff, it looked like Jauregui had never left the cage. She quickly engaged in a fierce exchange, tagging her opponent. Demopoulos tried to return fire with an overhand right, but a solid counter from Jauregui dropped her to the canvas.
The 27-year-old landed some follow-up strikes to seal the deal. The referee subsequently waved off the fight at 1:02 of the very first round. However, the controversial part began right after the official stopped the contest.
While Jauregui tried to get up, an already concussed Demopoulos unconsciously pulled an ankle grab. But without finding her way up, the Mexican landed a knee strike on the opponent. The referee also caught the sequence and told Jauregui the fight was over; only then she finally arose.
Jauregui definitely put on an impressive performance tonight. But her landing the extra knee right after the referee stopped the fight left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. In fact, the sequence comes as a surprise, since the Mexican typically fights clean and has rarely, if ever, found herself in a controversy like the one that happened tonight.
Finally, reporters asked her about the knee strike during the post-fight press conference, and she finally clarified what actually went down.
“I looked a little aggressive there because she wouldn’t let go,” Juaregui said. “Honestly, I couldn’t really tell that she was badly hurt, and I thought she still wanted to keep fighting. But I thought, ‘If you want to fight…’ Even though the fight had already ended, you know?
“It was a mistake on my part that I didn’t realize the fight was already over, and my fighting instinct was still there.”
Since she has accepted her mistake and called the strike unintentional, Jauregui likely won’t face any punishment. But in the case of intentional strikes, the commission can hit fighters with months or even years of suspension and impose hefty fines for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Even though the 27-year-old Tijuana native clearly called it a mistake on her part, fans who watched the sequence live believe otherwise. They didn’t mince words, calling out the Mexican for punishing an opponent who was already concussed.
Fans lash out after UFC Vegas 121 opening fight ends in knee strike controversy
One angry fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “What a disgusting woman! Seeing that she was unconscious and the referee stopped the fight, she still kneed her. What a nasty woman. 🤦🏼♀️”
A different fan outright labeled Jauregui trash, “Dirty trash a— human for that knee on a concussed opponent AFTER the fight was over.”
Continuing the wave of backlash, another user echoed the sentiment, “She’s a b—h for kneeing her obviously concussed opponent to the body AFTER the fight was stopped.”
For the UFC Vegas 121 audience, it’s understandable that they’re furious about the aftermath of tonight’s opening bout. However, the Mexican strawweight’s admission about the sequence clarified that she thought her opponent was still fighting back, which can sometimes happen during a fight.
For example, UFC middleweight Tresean Gore, who recently sustained a nasty injury, tried to wrestle referee Marc Goddard after Marco Tulio knocked him out at UFC 314.
In Jauregui’s case, however, it was her opponent Demopoulos who instinctively tried to grab her leg while still unconscious.
Still, fans weren’t convinced, as they kept calling her out, writing, “Pretty lame kneeing a downed opponent. Good smackin though. 👍👍👍.”
Landing a strike on an opponent after the referee waves off a bout is certainly a rare occurrence, but a similar situation has unfolded before.
Back in May 2010, Paul Daley lost his bout against Josh Koscheck via decision. However, instead of taking the loss on the chin and moving forward, Daley crossed the cage and sucker-punched Koscheck. Dana White was furious with the unsportsmanlike gesture and fired him on the spot.
Fortunately, the Mexican fighter looks to be miles away from facing such consequences. Still, the previous example shows how quickly things can spiral out of control in heated moments.
That said, regardless of the controversy, Yazmin Jauregui’s win stands as one of the most impressive victories of the night, and it will be interesting to see whether she can rise up from here.