Published 21:01 IST, October 29th 2019
UFC: 3 major fights in UFC history with controversial endings
There have been a lot of disappointing and controversial nights in UFC. Let us look at three recent controversial endings in UFC and more about them.
Advertisement
Since its inception, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has been a prodigy of the MMA universe and today it is undoubtedly the largest Martial Arts league in the world. UFC has produced some of the best martial artists in the world and gifted the MMA community with some incredible match-ups. However, there have been times when fights got ended up abruptly and we still ask ourselves, was it fair? Did he or she really lose? In a fighting game, it is very hard to predict something from the beginning and controversies are inevitable when the referee fails to communicate with the contestants. Let us look at 3 recent fights that had controversial endings.
Advertisement
UFC: Three controversial endings
UFC: Ben Askren vs Robbie Lawler (UFC 235)
After a lot of speculations and buzz, Ben Askren finally made his UFC debut at UFC 235 and Dana White chose Robbie Lawler as the perfect man to welcome him. Ben Askren was undefeated at the time and he entered the Octagon as a favourite. However, hardcore MMA fans considered that Lawler has the power to do what Jorge Masvidal did to Askren in just five seconds. The match started and Askren went ahead with his grappling skills. He surely got hold of Robbie Lawler’s neck but Lawler was still in the game. Referee Herb Dean signalled that as a choke and declared Ben Askren as the winner but Lawler was not okay with that. However, Lawler took it sportingly and accepted the defeat but his immediate protest to Herb’s signal shows his reaction towards the call.
UFC: Henry Cejudo vs TJ Dillashaw (UFC Fight Night 143)
This was surely one of the most disappointing and controversial matches in recent times. The current Bantamweight and Flyweight Champion Henry Cejudo defended his bantamweight title against former champion TJ Dillashaw. The super-hyped match was ended abruptly by the referee after Cejudo landed some clean shots on Dillashaw. However, Dillashaw was still in the match and he was going for a ground attempt. TJ Dillashaw was absolutely frustrated with the result and President Dana White expressed his discomfort towards the decision too. The match ended in a bad way and Dillashaw was convicted for EPO usage in a failed drug test.
Advertisement
UFC: Yair Rodriguez vs Jeremy Stephens (UFC Fight Night 159)
UFC fans have no longer complain about this match because Yair and Rodriguez put down a massive show of action in the re-match. However, in their first match-up, Rodriguez faced heavy backlash for leaving the match after an eye poke. A lot of fans claimed that Jeremy could have continued the match but he didn’t.
Advertisement
Advertisement
20:52 IST, October 29th 2019