Jared Cannonier Stops Rodrigues in UFC Fight Night Win
The official result lists Cannonier as the winner by technical knockout at 0:21 of Round 4 at the February 15, 2025 event. The official scorecards and results record the finish.
A late finish after three competitive rounds
The matchup paired the experienced former title challenger with Rodrigues, a powerful Brazilian middleweight nicknamed “Robocop.” The official event recap identifies this as the five-round main event. Cannonier stopped Rodrigues in Round 4, with the official scorecards recording the finish at 0:21. The official record classifies the finish as a fourth-round TKO.
The event recap and the official ESPN MMA highlight above show the closing sequence. Cannonier advanced behind punches and continued throwing as Rodrigues backed toward the fence. Rodrigues tried to answer, but Cannonier’s follow-up strikes left him unable to defend himself effectively. Referee Herb Dean stepped between them and waved off the fight. The result was a technical knockout, not a submission or a decision.
The finish was a significant recovery moment for Cannonier, who had entered the bout after a unanimous-decision loss to Caio Borralho in August 2024. He had faced Israel Adesanya for the middleweight championship in 2022, but that title challenge was not his most recent fight before Rodrigues. Correcting that chronology gives the Vegas win its proper context: Cannonier returned to competition, stopped a dangerous opponent, and added another finish to a career built across several weight classes in the promotion.
Rodrigues made Cannonier work for the opening rounds
Rodrigues brought pressure and heavy offense, forcing Cannonier to stay alert through the early exchanges. The bout’s official record confirms that Cannonier did not secure the stoppage until the fourth, so descriptions of a third-round comeback overstate how quickly the decisive moment arrived. The more accurate account is that both men remained in the fight through three rounds, then Cannonier found the opening early in the fourth and converted it before Rodrigues could recover.
A stoppage loss does not erase the threat Rodrigues presented. His willingness to engage and his power made the fight dangerous, and he was facing an opponent with extensive experience against ranked middleweights. Cannonier’s ability to keep working and create the finishing sequence was the difference in the result. The official record credits him with a TKO over Gregory Rodrigues, rather than the mistakenly named Paulo Henrique Rodrigues.
What happened after the 2025 win
Those were speculative projections, not confirmed bookings, and later events changed the picture. On July 18, 2026, Cannonier fought Christian Leroy Duncan in the co-main event in Oklahoma City. Duncan won by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the three-round bout 30–27, 30–27 and 29–28, according to the official event results.
That later result is the current outcome to include when looking back at the Rodrigues fight: Cannonier’s February 2025 stoppage was a notable win, followed by a unanimous-decision loss to Duncan the next year. It would be premature to claim a future matchup or title opportunity without an official announcement. The verified record keeps the focus on what happened in the cage: Cannonier stopped Rodrigues at 0:21 of Round 4, while Duncan later defeated Cannonier over three rounds.
