Jon Anik was as confused as the remainder of us watching Steven Nguyen put a chronic beatdown on Mohammad Yahya at UFC Abu Dhabi.
Nguyen set a UFC report by scoring six knockdowns (although there seemed to be at the very least yet one more than the official quantity) towards Yahya en path to a dominant second-round knockout, which was solely referred to as on the very finish of the interval as a consequence of a physician stoppage. Followers and fighters had been fast to query referee Jason Herzog not stepping in to save lots of Yahya earlier.
On his Anik & Florian podcast, Anik defined why he’s one of many many voices criticizing Herzog.
“What are we doing within the type of fighter security?” Anik stated. “Perhaps I ought to name my buddy Jason Herzog, who I actually do love, ‘Hey Jason, it’s Jon. Are you able to do a me a favor and simply cease the combat?’ There’s loads to unpack right here. … Jason Herzog was the referee for [Daniel] Zellhuber and [Esteban] Ribovics and should you hear nothing else I say right this moment, I don’t know if I used to be suggestive on the published that that combat ought to have been stopped at one cut-off date, however I believed Zellhuber ought to have kind of been saved to perhaps stay to combat one other day, and the outcome was that Herzog quite masterfully let the combat play out and the outcome was the Struggle of the Yr.
“However my thesis at all times is what are we doing within the type of fighter security? The ends don’t justify the means if there’s a rally and a Struggle of the Yr ensues. Simply because Mohammad Yahya doesn’t have an orbital fracture doesn’t imply that heretofore he’s not going to pay dearly for this.”
On the decision with Felder for UFC Abu Dhabi had been commentators and former UFC fighters Paul Felder and Michael Bisping. The 2 have been in loads of wars themselves, however even they puzzled what the restrict was for the quantity of punishment Yahya could be allowed to endure.
“Paul Felder stated in the direction of the tip of Spherical 2, ‘This combat’s not going to proceed, proper? As a result of ultimately a doctor’s going to get entangled right here,’” Anik stated. “Bisping first referred to as for a possible stoppage due to all of the knockdowns on the two-and-a-half minute mark precisely of Spherical 1, and I do consider we’re not assessing concussive injury stay within the minute, however after myriad knockdowns—I’m not saying there needs to be a knockdown rule in blended martial arts, nevertheless it does exist for a cause, however after six or seven of those f*cking issues, we will cease the combat.”
Sadly for Herzog, that is the second time in two weeks he’s been the topic of criticism from the MMA group, as a number of fighters additionally referred to as him out for stopping the UFC Nashville principal occasion too early. Herzog ended that combat in simply 35 seconds as Derrick Lewis was battering Tallison Teixeira, who was illegally grabbing the fence with each palms to attempt to get better.
Anik sympathizes with Herzog, who’s coping with the blame for 2 reverse sorts of errors.
“You’re damned should you do, you’re damned should you don’t,” Anik stated. “All of them join collectively. We will assume again to Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry. I simply assume, Kevin MacDonald, a variety of early stoppages in his profession as a referee and I’ve stated repeatedly that as a ref you’ll be universally praised—I suppose not universally, however the consensus goes to reward you should you let a combat go lengthy and chaos Struggle-of-the-Yr-type shit ensues.
“You’re going to be roundly criticized should you cease a combat too early, particularly in a giant setting like a principal occasion or a title combat.”
As for Yahya’s nook, Anik doesn’t assume they need to be absolved of duty both.
“A lot,” Anik stated when requested how a lot blame Yahya’s nook ought to obtain. “And it’s most likely disgrace on me for not acknowledging their culpability in all of this. I don’t know. For the sake of the present, I watched it, and I don’t know if I’m being notably reactionary proper now, nevertheless it was not good. Not good.
“What number of knockdowns—like, I don’t assume we’d like a three-knockdown rule in MMA, however how about this, should you get knocked down 5 occasions in an MMA spherical, do you assume it’s honest that they cease the combat?”
