Mike Rodriguez went from almost scoring a finish to getting finished himself.
In a pivotal mistake by referee Chris Tognoni that left UFC president Dana White incensed, Rodriguez suffered a submission loss to Ed Herman at UFC on ESPN+ 35.
Rodriguez was having his way early and was about to put on the finishing touches in Round 2 when he landed a knee to Herman’s midsection that was misidentified by Tognoni as a low blow. Herman fell to the canvas and held his groin, which caused a break in the action.
When the replay was shown, it was evident the strike Rodriguez landed was a clean shot to the midsection, but Herman ended up with time to recover. The fight resumed, and a beaten-down Herman managed to turn things around remarkably. He locked up a Kimura in Round 3 that forced Rodriguez to tap.
Rodriguez (11-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) and his team attempted to appeal the loss, but to no avail. The blemish will remain on his record for now, despite the major controversy.
The circumstances behind the finish make Herman’s win over Rodriguez the MMA Junkie 2020 “Robbery of the Year.”