Garcia’s Third-Round Elbows Finally Broke Through Gordon’s
Rafa Garcia stopped Jared Gordon on September 13, 2025, at Noche UFC in San Antonio. The lightweight contest at Frost Bank Center ended by technical knockout at 2:27 of the third round after a right-hand knockdown led to the finishing ground attack.
Close-range punching made the opening rounds demanding
Garcia and Gordon exchanged heavy shots in the pocket, with both landing punches that briefly disrupted the other’s rhythm. Neither fighter consistently gave ground, producing a physically draining contest.
Gordon found success with combinations and right hands, while Garcia continued answering. The repeated exchanges prevented either man from relying on a cautious distance fight or an uncomplicated early lead.
Garcia added grappling and damaging elbows
The second round brought more success for Garcia, including a mounted guillotine threat and an elbow that opened a cut on Gordon’s forehead. Gordon remained in the contest and continued responding.
The combination of striking and positional attacks made the action increasingly difficult to manage. Garcia was finding more ways to connect even when Gordon survived the immediate danger.
A right hand opened the route to the finish
Garcia dropped Gordon in the third and followed him down. After briefly threatening a rear-naked choke, he settled into side control and landed elbows until the referee intervened.
The stoppage improved Garcia’s record to eighteen wins and four defeats. Gordon’s resistance had carried the fight into the final round, but the knockdown and subsequent positional control finally allowed Garcia to turn a hard-fought exchange into a decisive technical-knockout victory.
Sources
- Sherdog: second-round attacks and side-control elbows
- UFC: close-range battle and third-round knockdown
- Tapology: official time, location and record
