UFC Fight Night: Piera Rodríguez DQ’d for multiple illegal headbutts vs. Ariane Carnelossi

You’re not allowed to headbutt your opponent in the UFC and you’re definitely not allowed to headbutt them twice.

That was the lesson for Piera Rodríguez at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, where the strawweight was disqualified against Ariane Carnelossi for illegal headbutts. Carnelossi was declared the winner after being ruled unable to continue.

The headbutts came when the two fighters were grappling in the second round. Rodríguez was on top, but Carnelossi had her in full guard and with both arms wrapped up. It’s unclear if Rodríguez was frustrated, not thinking or both, but she decided to drop her head down on Carnelossi’s forehead.

Referee Mark Smith noticed the illegal strike and warned Rodríguez “watch the head, be careful with the head.” Rodríguez responded by bashing Carnelossi even harder, and that was the end of the fight.

Carnelossi was given some time to recover, but the fight was called minutes later and she was declared the winner by DQ.

This isn’t the first time Smith has had to deal with a disqualification via a blatantly illegal hit, as he was also on hand for Petr Yan’s infamous knee on Aljamain Sterling that cost him the men’s bantamweight title at UFC 259.

The loss knocks Rodríguez’s record down to 9-2, her second straight loss after submitting to Gillian Robertson in April. Carnelossi’s record will improve to 14-3.