UFC Tampa fight temporarily stopped after fighter is hit with two illegal shots at once

On By Littum

On Saturday at UFC Tampa, during the main card bout between undefeated Daniel Marcos and Adrian Yanez, the fight was temporarily stopped after a crazy sequence of errors.

The bantamweight fight between Adrian Yanez and Daniel Marcos was highlighted as one of the better fights of the UFC’s return to Tampa.

Marcos was undefeated coming into the fight and was hoping to score a big win over Yanez and move close to the top 15.

(L-R) Adrian Yanez beats Daniel Marcos of Peru in a bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Amalie Arena on December 14, 2024 in T...
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Yanez vs Marcos temporarily stopped after an insane double violation

Early in the fight, both fights looked to display their elite striking skills, with neither fighter wanting to break face by attempting any takedowns or grappling attempts.

Yanez was once ranked in the top 15, but after back-to-back losses to Rob Font and Jonathan Martinez, he was dropped from the rankings.

The 31-year-old came back to win in his last outing against Vincius Salvador, scoring a big round-1 knockout.

Midway through the first round, referee Keith Peterson stepped in and temporarily stopped the action after the undefeated Peruvian landed two illegal punches at once.

Marcos tried a kick to the body but unfortunately it landed low and he followed it up with a deep jab to Yanez’s eye.

The 31-year-old sat up against the cage and rubbed both affected areas, alerting the referee that he was caught with two illegal shots. Peterson subsequently warned Marcos and the fight continued.

Fans react to Marcos landing two illegal shots in one

It’s fair to say that a double illegal punch isn’t something you see every day in MMA, and fans have offered a mixed reaction to the unique moment.

“Adrian Yanez just got it bad with the combination of eye pokes and kicks to the balls. I’ve never seen that,” one fan commented.

“Jon Jones watches Daniel Marcos hit Adrian Yanez with a low blow AND eye poke at the same time like, ‘Wait, can you do that?'” another fan commented.

After an extremely close three rounds, with both fighters seeing a lot of success, the judges took a while to figure out the score of the fight, leading to a slight post-fight delay.

The Peruvian continued to maintain his undefeated record with a split decision victory, moving himself closer to the top 15 in the bantamweight division. During his Octagon interview, undefeated bantamweight called out ‘The King of Rio’ Jose Aldo, who is currently ranked 11th in the division.

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