VIDEO | Israel Adesanya says Yair Rodriguez’ knockout at UFC Denver wasn’t luck, ‘That was some Matrix-type sh*t.’

“That [elbow knockout by Yair Rodriguez] was crazy. And I’m seeing a lot of people saying that that was lucky, that was a lucky knockout… Like, really smart people who, that are like legends of the game.

Literally, the example that they gave was, ‘well, he threw it twice beforehand. He threw it twice beforehand and failed. So this time he got it,’ and I’m saying it’s instinct, it’s timing and knowing where the head is gonna be not where it is, where it’s gonna be. And his argument was, ‘ah, well he threw it twice beforehand and failed. Was that instinct and timing as well?’

My counter-argument is, hey, look… Even against Brad Tavares in the beginning of the first round, I was throwing my jab, throwing my jab, throwing my jab. I wasn’t landing it. And then eventually, from the second round, I bloodied up his face with my jab. And I started connecting my two. That’s not luck, that’s not luck. That is timing, that is trial and error, that is readjustment and resetting.

Luck is something if I cover my eyes and throw something and hopefully, I’m not even aiming at the chin and it hits. Well this guy looked at him (Chan Sung Jung), ducked his head down, he couldn’t see but he knew where the head was gonna be, he readjusted and boom. Hit ’em. That was sick. That was some Matrix-type sh*t. Don’t at me. That was not luck.”

Rising top middleweight contender Israel ‘The Last Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya happens to know a thing or two about striking. Because of that, he realizes that the incredible knockout pulled off by Yair Rodriguez against Chan Sung Jung this past Saturday at UFC Denver was far from a lucky shot.

Israel Adesanya, 75-5-1 as a kickboxer, has recently established himself as one of the middleweight division’s biggest threats as he now sits as the No. 6 ranked contender after picking up his 15th career MMA win over Derek Brunson at UFC 230.

As he described Rodriguez’ brilliant finish of Jung if you look back at Israel Adesanya’s win over Brunson it just proves true to what he’s preaching as Brunson’s downfall in the bout began with a pinpoint perfect knee strike to the head as he shot for a takedown on the New Zealand resident.

Regardless of whether you believe it was luck or not, it landed and got Rodriguez the win in one of the very best fights of the year.

on 11/12/2018