UFC Fight Night 139: Korean Zombie vs. Rodriguez | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy

Conor McBragger
May 20
7 min read

1. Introduction

2. UFC’s 25th Anniversary — Back in Denver

3. Quick Stats

4. Main Event: Rodriguez’s Last-Second Elbow — Knockout of the Year

5. Cerrone’s Armbar PoN, Barber’s Debut & The Card

6. Full Results

7. Bonuses & Awards

8. Records & Milestones

9. Legacy & Impact

10. FAQ

Introduction

UFC Fight Night 139: Korean Zombie vs. Rodriguez took place on Saturday, November 10, 2018 at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 840,000 average viewers (902,000 peak, 565k FS1 prelims). The card drew 11,426 fans for a gate of $946,706. The UFC celebrated its 25th anniversary at this event; the first UFC had taken place on November 12, 1993, in Denver at the now-demolished McNichols Sports Arena. The main event was a featherweight bout between Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez.

Rodriguez knocked out Jung with an elbow strike at 4:59 of round five — with one second remaining — in one of the most celebrated individual fight finishes in UFC history. Rodriguez earned both Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night. Donald Cerrone earned Performance of the Night for a round one armbar submission of Mike Perry. Rodriguez was a last-minute replacement for injured Frankie Edgar. The Colorado athletic commission subsequently overturned Bobby Moffett’s submission win over Chas Skelly due to a controversial stoppage.

UFC’s 25th Anniversary — Back in Denver

UFC 1 had taken place at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver on November 12, 1993 — the event that introduced mixed martial arts to a global audience via pay-per-view. The 25th anniversary context was deliberately chosen: Denver, a Pepsi Center main card, and the graphics and visuals between fights that recreated the original UFC production aesthetic. The Pepsi Center held approximately 19,000 for UFC events; the 11,426 attendance was a strong Fight Night result for the anniversary card.

Rodriguez had accepted the main event on short notice after Frankie Edgar withdrew with an injury. Rodriguez had previously fought Edgar at UFC 211 in May 2017, losing by TKO. His Denver acceptance was thus a short-notice booking against a man he had previously lost to’s replacement. Rodriguez also aggravated a foot injury in round one when a kick attempt caught Jung’s knee. He fought four more rounds on the injured foot before the finish.

Quick Stats

📅 Date: Saturday, November 10, 2018 (UFC 25th ANNIVERSARY — back in Denver, where UFC 1 was held Nov 12, 1993)

📍 Venue: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado

👥 Attendance: 11,426

💰 Gate: $946,706

📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 840,000 avg. viewers (902k peak, 565k FS1 prelims)

🏆 Main Event: Chan Sung Jung vs. Yair Rodriguez — FW (5 rounds; Rodriguez SHORT NOTICE replacement for injured Frankie Edgar; Rodriguez aggravated foot R1)

✅ Result: Rodriguez def. Jung via KO (elbow) — R5, 4:59 (ONE SECOND REMAINING! FotN $50k each; PoN $50k Rodriguez; KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR; tied UFC latest-finish record; both fighters SHOOK HANDS at 10 seconds left — then Rodriguez connected!)

Main Event: Rodriguez’s Last-Second Elbow — Knockout of the Year

The five rounds of Rodriguez vs. Jung were a masterclass in FW striking exchange: leg kicks, combination work, creative angles, and sustained forward pressure from both fighters across 25 minutes of thin Denver air. Rodriguez’s foot injury from round one added a competitive dimension — he fought the majority of the fight compromised. Jung’s trademark pressure and toughness pushed Rodriguez for every second of the fight. Both fighters were visibly exhausted entering the final 10 seconds of round five.

With approximately 10 seconds remaining, both fighters paused and shook hands in mutual respect — a spontaneous acknowledgment of the exceptional fight they had shared. With the handshake complete, and with approximately five seconds on the clock, Rodriguez crouched forward and threw a backward elbow strike as Jung advanced. The elbow connected with devastating precision at 4:59 of round five — one second before the final horn. Jung collapsed unconscious to the mat. Rodriguez collapsed to the mat separately, exhausted. The finish tied Demetrious Johnson’s submission of Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC 186 in 2015 as the latest stoppage in UFC history at the time.

Cerrone’s Armbar PoN, Barber’s Debut & The Card

Donald Cerrone’s first-round armbar submission of Mike Perry at 4:46 earned Performance of the Night and added a submission finish to his already extensive finishing record. Cerrone’s armbar — typically associated with wrestlers and jiu-jitsu specialists rather than Cerrone’s striking-first identity — was the Denver card’s most unexpected individual technique. Perry, a 22-year-old Flint, Michigan welterweight, was submitted by the fighter he was attempting to trade with.

Maycee Barber’s TKO of Hannah Cifers in round two was the Denver card’s most commercially interesting debut result. Barber was a 20-year-old Colorado Springs women’s strawweight making her UFC debut in her home state. Her TKO finish of Cifers demonstrated the aggressive forward-pressure style that subsequent fights amplified. Germaine de Randamie’s comprehensive UD win over Raquel Pennington extended her post-FW championship career at women’s BW. The controversial Skelly vs. Moffett stoppage produced post-event discussion that culminated in the Colorado commission overturning the result to a no-contest more than a year later.

Full Results

Main Card (Fox Sports 1)

Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung — KO (elbow) — R5, 4:59 — FW (FotN $50k each; PoN $50k Rodriguez; ONE SECOND REMAINING; KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR; tied UFC latest-finish record; handshake at 10 seconds then backward elbow; Rodriguez injured foot R1; short-notice replacement for Edgar)

Donald Cerrone def. Mike Perry — Submission (armbar) — R1, 4:46 — WW (PoN $50k; Cerrone’s armbar of striking-first Perry in round one)

Germaine de Randamie def. Raquel Pennington — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Women’s BW (GDR comprehensive; Pennington career reset)

Beneil Dariush def. Thiago Moises — Unanimous Decision (30-26x2, 30-25) — LW

Maycee Barber def. Hannah Cifers — TKO (punches and elbows) — R2, 2:01 — Women’s FLW (BARBER’S UFC DEBUT in home state Colorado; future FW top-5 contender!)

Michael Trizano def. Luis Pena — Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27) — LW (TUF 27 finale rematch; both TUF 27 finalists)

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)

Bobby Moffett def. Chas Skelly — Submission — FW (CONTROVERSIAL STOPPAGE; result later OVERTURNED to NC by Colorado commission on Skelly’s appeal)

Diego Ramos vs. [opponent] — BW (prelim card)

Macy De La Rosa def. [opponent] — Women’s FLW

Various preliminary fights — 12-fight card total

Bonuses & Awards

🥇 Fight of the Night: Yair Rodriguez + Chan Sung Jung — $50,000 each

🥇 Performance of the Night: Yair Rodriguez + Donald Cerrone — $50,000 each (Rodriguez earned $100k total: FotN + PoN)

Records & Milestones

• Rodriguez’s 4:59 R5 KO tied the UFC latest-finish record (equaled Demetrious Johnson’s submission of Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC 186, May 2015).

• UFC 25th anniversary event in Denver — the city of the first UFC event on November 12, 1993.

• Skelly vs. Moffett was eventually overturned to a No Contest by the Colorado commission — one of the more rare post-event state commission reversals.

Legacy & Impact

Rodriguez’s Denver elbow became the defining individual fight finish of his career and one of the most replayed moments in UFC featherweight history. His subsequent FW career produced wins over Jeremy Stephens, Korean Zombie in a rematch at UFC 273 — where he won the interim FW title — and title fights against Alexander Volkanovski. Jung’s Denver loss was one of his career’s most memorable defeats; his subsequent career produced wins over Dan Ige and the interim FW championship at UFC 273 before his loss in the KZ vs. Rodriguez 2 rematch.

Maycee Barber’s Denver debut TKO was the opening act of a UFC FLW and SBW career that produced wins over Roxanne Modafferi, Gillian Robertson, and Sabina Mazo before a knee injury derailed her trajectory in 2020. De Randamie’s Denver UD of Pennington was the beginning of her UFC women’s BW career phase — she subsequently fought Amanda Nunes for the women’s BW title at UFC 245 in December 2019.

FAQ

What exactly was the elbow that finished the fight?

Rodriguez threw what is described as a ‘spinning back elbow’ or ‘backward elbow’ — pivoting away from Jung and delivering the elbow in a direction that was almost opposite to a conventional forward strike. The technique required Jung to be advancing forward, which he was; Rodriguez timed the pivot and delivery to intersect with Jung’s forward momentum. The angle and velocity of the connection produced immediate unconsciousness. The technique was described by multiple analysts as one of the most technically improbable KO-ending strikes in the sport’s history.

Why did they shake hands with 10 seconds left?

The handshake at approximately 10 seconds remaining was a spontaneous mutual acknowledgment between the two fighters of the exceptional quality of the fight they had shared. Both fighters were visibly exhausted. The handshake did not signal the end of the fight — both returned to competitive exchanges immediately after. What made the moment remarkable was that the fight ended five seconds after the handshake, making the handshake-then-KO sequence one of the sport’s most vivid individual combat moments.

What was Rodriguez’s short-notice context?

Frankie Edgar withdrew with an injury before the Denver card. Rodriguez accepted the replacement booking on short notice against a fighter he had previously lost to — Jung’s teammate-adjacent fight with Edgar. His foot injury in round one — sustained when a kick caught Jung’s knee rather than his body — added a further short-notice adversity dimension. Rodriguez fought four rounds on the injured foot before the finish. His CBS Sports post-fight interview stated: ‘I feel like shit. I just want to say thank you because all of my family is here.’

What was Cerrone’s armbar of Perry?

Perry was a 22-year-old WW known primarily for forward-pressure striking rather than grappling. Cerrone’s armbar — applied at 4:46 of round one from a position that transitioned from stand-up exchanges — exploited Perry’s grappling exposure. The armbar technique from Cerrone was unexpected: his UFC finishing record was primarily built on striking and guillotine chokes from wrestling transitions. The Denver result added a straight armbar to his finishing portfolio.

What was the Skelly vs. Moffett controversy?

Bobby Moffett had been awarded a submission win over Chas Skelly in a FW preliminary fight. Skelly appealed the result to the Colorado Office of Combative Sports, arguing that the referee had waved off the fight prematurely during a submission sequence in which Skelly had not tapped and was not visibly unconscious. The Colorado commission agreed with the appeal and overturned the result to a No Contest more than a year after the event — one of the more unusual post-event state commission reversal outcomes in UFC history.

What was the 25th anniversary significance?

UFC 1 took place at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver on November 12, 1993. The venue has since been demolished. The UFC’s Pepsi Center return for the 25th anniversary was deliberate — the city of the sport’s American birth providing the backdrop for a milestone event. The production incorporated original UFC visual elements between fights. The Rodriguez vs. Jung finish provided the 25th anniversary card with a moment that became immediately iconic in the sport’s history.

References

UFC Fight Night 139: Korean Zombie vs. Rodriguez — Wikipedia

UFC Fight Night 139 — Tapology