Going into his bout with Aurel Pirtea, Saul Rogers must have felt pretty confident.
The former Ultimate Fighter contestant, from Bolton, was taking on a man who had agreed to the fight at less than a week’s notice after the withdrawal of Pat Healy.
What’s more, Rogers was coming off a six-fight win streak while Romanian opponent Pirtea (11-8-0) was making his lightweight debut at ACB 54 in Manchester.
He even had Manchester United on his side, with the club he supports wishing him good luck ahead of the match-up.
Good Luck to #MUFC fan @Saul_Rogers at #ACB54 in Manchester this weekend!
And keep an eye out for his upcoming documentary on #MUTV. 💪 pic.twitter.com/wVFBTkCjqy
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 10, 2017
You can probably work out where this is headed, though.
What an upset! Aurel Pirtea defeats local favourite Saul Rogers! #ACB54 https://t.co/qguXtqn1Jv
— ACA MMA (@ACA_League) March 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/FlorianBav/status/840698714318622721
Rogers, who had taken his two previous fights by submission is now 12-2-0 following the second round guillotine choke from the 28-year-old Romanian.
It continues a pattern for ‘The Miner’, who has seen none of his last six fights go the distance, winning five, and it left the viewing public stunned.
https://twitter.com/dswan88/status/840692793181896710
Pirtea silenced the whole Manchester Arena submitting Saul Rogers @acb_league
— Tomasz 'TJ' Marciniak (@tjmarciniak) March 11, 2017
Still shocked at the massive upset on @acb_league @Saul_Rogers showing even the best can get choked #ACB54 #ACBManchester
— SuperMMAn Coaching (@Supermman87) March 11, 2017
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