10 MMA Fights That Were Stopped Way Too Soon By The Referee
Between the one-shot finish that could happen at any moment and the referees that the whole fight is contingent on, MMA is the most volatile sport out there, and UFC fans already know this. The referee's job is to enforce the rules, keep the fight clean and most importantly, ensure the safety of the fighters. This is largely a thankless job, as they're not even supposed to be noticed until they absolutely need to be there.
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MMA is a contact sport, so it's better to call a fight early as opposed to stopping it a few strikes too late. However, these fighters put in so much time and sacrifice to show the world what they've got, and a premature call could be a slap in the face to all their hard work.
10 Urijah Faber Vs Renan Barao 2
Urijah Faber has earned any and all superlatives that a fighter can get. Primarily, his toughness has won fans over and put him in a position to represent the lighter-weight classes in MMA. Renan Barao tested this toughness again when the two met for their rematch at UFC 169.
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Barao rocked Faber with a powerful shot that had Faber fall forward in search of a leg to grab onto. Faber held on to this leg while covering his head to defend from the follow-up shots of Barao. Faber gave Herb Dean a thumbs up to signal that he's coherent, but it wasn't enough in Dean's opinion.
9 Kazushi Sakuraba Vs Conan Silveira
In the UFC's infancy stage, they managed to travel to Japan and just had to have Kazushi Sakuraba on the card. Sakuraba ultimately did not disappoint, but controversy almost marred this moment for him.
As Silveira was unloading shots, Sakuraba dove for a single leg takedown. John McCarthy saw this as a knockdown and called the fight. Through protest, Sakurba had McCarthy review the footage and the fight was declared a no contest. The rematch took place later that night and Sakuraba won via armbar.
8 Drew Dober Vs Leandro Silva
Drew Dober took on Leandro Silva, he knew that he'd have to be wary of the slick submission skills that Silva had utilized so many times before. At the midway point of the fight, Silva dropped for a guillotine. Dober would defend this perfectly, but referee Eduardo Herdy didn't think so.
It's rare that a stoppage is so egregiously that it's overturned by the commission afterwards. The referee checked Drew Dober's arm to make sure he still had resistance in his body. Dober, who was obviously very conscious, slipped his head out of the null lock right as Herdy stopped the fight.
7 Danny Roberts Vs Claudio Silva
© Per Haljestam<\/a> - USA Today Sports"">A classic striker vs grappler matchup played out when Danny Roberts took on Claudio Silva. Both fighters found success in this bout, but it was looking like Roberts would be ahead on the judges scorecards. The judges weren't needed, unfortunately, as referee Kevin Sataki called a stop to the action.
Silva threw up an armbar, and it did look tight. Roberts, however, was defending perfectly and was en route to escaping as Sataki halted the fight. Roberts was justifiably emotional as he took to Instagram, mentioning that he only gets half his money for a 'lose' and that he's trying to raise his family while building a legacy.
6 Dominick Cruz Vs Henry Cejudo
If there's ever a time to not call a fight early, it's a title fight. Dominick Cruz looked to recapture bantamweight gold when facing Henry Cejudo. Not the worst stoppage ever, but the altitude of this fight makes it a little sour to have ended so soon. Cruz was caught with a beautifully timed knee that put him down.
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For recovery, Cruz could either concede to a poor position and defend shot and maybe get stopped there, or eat some shots on his way up to his feet. Cruz chose the latter and Keith Peterson stopped the bout. Cruz protested immediately. Since this fight, Dominick has been very candid when talking about Peterson. Cruz claims that on the night of the fight, Keith smelt of liquor and cigarettes, which could cloud his decision-making while officiating a fight.
5 Pete Sell Vs Nate Quarry
This fight really never got started, unfortunately. Early in the first, Pete was dropped and Nate jumped on the hurt fighter. Pete is a tried and true tough fighter, so some recovery time would've been nice. Referee Cecil Peoples didn't grant this to Sell, as he stopped the fight immediately.
This would be the first hiccup to tarnish the then-undefeated record of Pete Sell. To add insult to injury, the stoppage was incredibly awkward. Cecil Peoples just laid atop Quarry and Sell for some time. While the two would rematch later and give some clarity to this matchup, it doesn't erase what was done.
4 Michael Chiesa Vs Kevin Lee
TUF winner, Michael Chiesa, is very much a "live by the sword, die by the sword" type of fighter in terms of submissions. Most of his wins are by submission, and so are most of his loses. One of these losses comes via Kevin Lee. Lee and Chiesa were not on good terms heading into this fight, potentially causing Chiesa to make mistakes.
Lee did a great job controlling Chiesa for most of the round, eventually taking his back. While Michael Chiesa has rallied before, he wasn't given the opportunity to here. Lee sinks in a rear-naked choke and Chiesa tries to relax himself long enough to see the next round. Almost immediately, Mario Yamasaki stops the fight and is met with direct protest from Chiesa.
3 Rory MacDonald Vs Carlos Condit
Rory MacDonald was glad to take on Carlos Condit in his native Canada. Obviously the fan-favorite, the crowd chanted for Rory for almost the entirety of the fight. MacDonald was simply outclassing the skilled Condit. With two rounds dominated by MacDonald, Condit needed to finish in the third round.
Condit got the job done, stopping the fight with seven seconds left in the final round. Rory MacDonald was getting beaten up pretty bad. Using most of his energy to dominate the first two rounds, MacDonald was fading fast. When the fighters were notified of there only being 10 seconds left, Condit went for broke. The fight was stopped as a small shot landed when Condit was smothering Rory. This fight easily could've gone another few seconds.
2 Robbie Lawler Vs Ben Askren
© Stephen R. Sylvanie - USA Today Sports<\/a>"">Ben Askren finally made his UFC debut and Robbie was glad to open the door for him. Possibly the worst matchup for Askren, Lawler reminded fans that he's still a force to be reckoned with. The terrible start for Askren had him covered in blood and wobbly on the feet.
Ben Askren stayed composed and quickly made the adjustments necessary. Utilizing his wrestling, Askren took Lawler down and took his back. In a similar position that saw Askren get slammed on his head earlier, Ben adjusted and applied a bulldog choke that seemed to put Lawler to sleep. Lawler's arm feel in a way that looked like he was out. However, he protested the stoppage right as Askren eased the choke. Herb Dean could've done more to make sure the fight was over.
1 Ion Cuțelaba Vs Magomed Ankalaev
What an intense stare-down to prelude the most anticlimactic stoppage in UFC history. Cuțelaba entered this fight in his very no-nonsense manner and Ankalaev was happy to play along. This fight only made it 38 seconds, as Cuțelaba's antics tricked the referee.
Cuțelaba played possum to get Ankalaev to throw down with him. Magomed would throw head kick after head kick. Nothing landed with any severity, but they sure did look mean. Couple that with the theatrical wobbles of Cuțelaba and the referee had seen enough. Another stoppage, another immediate protest - this protest as warranted as any.
