LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag] likely was on his way to a doctor stoppage loss against Saparbeg Safarov on Saturday at UFC 248. Fortunately for him, he finished the fight before the doctor could intervene.
With his eye mangled and swollen shut, Vieira (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) took care of business inside the first round against Safarov (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) in their middleweight bout, securing an arm-triangle choke for the submission.
Check it out (via Twitter):
Still undefeated!
Rodolfo Vieira with the early finish 💪 #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/SNXM6SrxAC
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) March 8, 2020
Although the pain likely was numbed by the win, Vieira will be feeling the effects for a good while. The extent of the damage is unknown, but it did not look in good shape as he walked past press row inside T-Mobile Arena (via Twitter):
The eye of @RodolfoVieiraJJ after choking out Saparbeg Safarov. 😱 #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/rUX5wQkMBB
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) March 8, 2020
In addition, Vieira was immediately transported to the hospital after the fight, a UFC official confirmed to MMA Junkie.
Good thing.
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