A nasty eye injury caused a UFC Fight Night 242 prelim to be waved off Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After a big standing elbow from Chris Padilla ballooned the left eye of Rong Zhu, the cage-side physician was called in to examine the injury. The physician determined the fight could no longer continue, so Padilla (15-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was named the winner over Zhu (25-6 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at 4:14 of Round 2.
TACO PADILLIA 😳
The fight ends with a TKO from a HUGE elbow in Round 2! #UFCVegas97 pic.twitter.com/FsCFijUp13
— UFC (@ufc) September 7, 2024
A seasoned veteran of the regional scene, Padilla made his UFC debut in April when he submitted James Llontop as a moderate underdog.
Zhu, 24, re-signed with the UFC in early 2024 after a successful stint on Road to UFC. Zhu had competed for the UFC three times from April 2021 to February 2022. He went 1-2 with two weight misses and was released from the promotion.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 242 results include:
- Chris Padilla def. Rong Zhu via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 4:14
- Isaac Dulgarian def. Brendon Marotte via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:19
- Andre Lima def. Felipe dos Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Gabriel Santos def. Yi Zha via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Jaqueline Amorim def. Vanessa Demopoulos via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:28
- Andre Petroski def. Dylan Budka via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Nathan Fletcher def. Zygimantas Ramaska via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:14
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 242.
