Early stoppage? 'It wouldn't have made a difference,' UFN 38's Rony Jason says

NATAL, Brazil – Was Rony Jason the beneficiary of an early stoppage at Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 38 event? If he was, he said it wouldn’t have mattered much anyway.

Jason (14-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) fought fellow featherweight Steven Siler (23-12 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in the main-card opener at Sunday’s event. Just 77 seconds into the FOX Sports 1-televised bout, which took place at Ginasio Nelio Dias in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, Jason connected on some punches that sent Siler tumbling to the mat.

Although Siler threw some upkicks and appeared to quickly regain his wits, referee Wernei Cardoso halted the contest and awarded Jason a TKO victory.

Did a protesting Siler have a point about it being a premature halt to the bout?

“I just work for the UFC,” Jason said after the fight, which moved the “TUF: Brazil” winner to 9-1 in his past 10 fights. “The assigned referees are very prepared to protect every athlete, so I don’t think it’s up to anyone to say if it was stopped early. The same person who criticizes this and says it was an early stoppage might also complain about a late stoppage.”

Besides, Jason said, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Now with 13 stoppages in 14 career wins, Jason believes such a stoppage was only a matter of time.

“For me, I’ve always looked for the knockout or the submission, and God wanted the win to be mine, so I’m here right now,” he said. “Had he stopped earlier or later, it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“I would have still gone for the finish anyway.”

But if you think Jason is giving a cold shoulder to his opponent, the Brazilian shared a pretty emotional story from prior to the event. While talking about his hometown of Quixada in the post-fight press conference, he got choked up talking about his mom, whom he says truly represents the city’s nature.

He said it started a day prior to weigh-ins for the event.

“For my birthday, they brought me a cake that was made out of rice because I couldn’t eat cake since I had to make weight the next day,” he said. “My mom cried, and I was like, ‘What happened, Mom?’ And she started crying because she saw Siler in the lobby and started imagining his mom and how she would be in that situation, leaving him alone.

“That’s the purity that makes me feel great about Quixada and being able to take this to everyone.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 38, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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