Chinese fighter Rong Zhu faced Chris Padilla at his second MMA UFC debut, but it didn’t end well for him.
Rong faced Padilla at UFC Fight Night 242 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas 97. The fighter fought a good battle, landing vicious blows, but Padilla landed a straight elbow that ended in a nasty eye injury for Rong. At first, the Chinese fighter thought it was an eye poke and continued on with the fight, but the eye swelled up at an exceeding rate. Referee Kerry Hatley soon spotted the damage and ended the match so a physician could assess the injury.
After the assessment, the doctor determined the fight could no longer continue, and Padilla was named the winner of the round. The underdog spoke about the fight and his game plan for getting to the cage.
“The game plan was to be smart. I feel like every fighter has holes all over their game, but it’s, can you stay dialled in? Can you settle yourself down enough to see those holes? The first round, I was being a little too macho where I was like, ‘Oh, you think you’re better than me? OK, let’s get it then.’ But then when I went back to the corner, chilled out, my coach just talked to me like, ‘Hey, man – it’s going to be there. Just do your thing. Do what you’re good at.’
Padilla wasn’t too concerned with his opponent’s injury and celebrated his victory.
“I think I’m worth $50K, man. I know the first (UFC win) was like, ‘Maybe (that was bonus-worthy).’ But who’s doing it like that, man? Who? Who? Splitting somebody with an elbow, swelling their eye up? I think I really smashed his eye, personally. I felt that – excuse my language – b*tch mush.”
“Hey I don’t need (to be the favorite). They can keep their opinion. They can have whatever they want. My people back in the city just made so much money, and I love it. Please don’t put me (as the favorite) – I need the underdog spot. I need the disrespect. I love it.”
“I’ll take whatever is given to me. It’s all blessings. (Hayisaer Maheshate) beat Gabriel Benitez last time. I thought he lost.”
24-year-old fighter Rong re-signed with the UFC in early 2024 after a successful stint on Road to UFC. Zhu competed for the UFC thrice from April 2021 to February 2022. He went 1-2 with two weight misses and was released from the promotion.
