Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez will run it back after their disappointing no-contest in their first fight. According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN citing UFC President Dana White, Stephens and Rodriguez will rematch at UFC Boston on October 18 in the co-main event.
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
“Breaking: Yair Rodriguez vs Jeremy Stephens is being re-booked as the co-main event for UFC Fight Night on Oct. 18 in Boston, per UFC president Dana White.”
The UFC Fight Night in Boston event needed a co-main event after Zabit Magomedsharipov vs Calvin Kattar was moved off the card and re-scheduled to take place at UFC Moscow on November 9. A light-heavyweight matchup of Chris Weidman vs Dominick Reyes will headline the UFC Boston fight card.
There has been a lot of back-and-forth between both Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez following their fight in Mexico City which ended 15 seconds into the fight after Stephens suffered an eye poke and could not continue.
Rodriguez would then be very vocal and critical about Jeremy Stephens not being able to continue in their fight, which also led to a confrontation between the two fighters in the hotel lobby after their fight.
In an interview with ESPN, Jeremy Stephens took a shot at Rodriguez who had previously been cut from the UFC after not accepting a fight, after Rodriguez accused Stephens of quitting in their matchup.
Before the fight can take place, Stephens will require clearance from doctors for his eye injury, as he was facing a 180-day medical suspension to get proper healing from his injury. The initial report from ESPN does not state whether or not Jeremy Stephens has already received the medical clearance.
The two exciting featherweights will now have the opportunity to run their fight back to the delight of fans, and settle the beef between them after the disappointing end to their first matchup.
Who do you have winning this rematch, Jeremy Stephens or Yair Rodriguez?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 9/25/2019