Jared Cannonier was seemingly robbed of a major opportunity.
The main event of UFC on ESPN 57 this past Saturday night concluded with a controversial stoppage in a high-stakes middleweight contest between Cannonier and fellow contender Nassourdine Imavov.
Imavov rocked Cannonier in the fourth round of their five-round bout with a counter right hand over the top.
Cannonier was visibly staggered and even had to jog away at one point in the octagon while recovering.
Imavov continued to land right hands on the wobbly Cannonier, but the bout was stopped as Cannonier had been recovering.
Many sounded off regarding the questionable stoppage executed by referee Jason Herzog.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill wrote “Horrible stoppage!!!!!” on X.
Renowned mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani called it “really awful” on X.
“I mean, this is really awful,” he wrote. “Watching live, I thought Cannonier lost a mouthpiece or something. He was robbed here. I’d love to understand why Herzog, who is typically solid, made this call. One of the worst in recent memory.”
UFC flyweight Cody Durden had a similar reaction.
“I don’t like that stoppage. You gotta let these guys fight longer! He was still in the fight,” he wrote on X.
Cannonier had been ranked No. 4 in the UFC middleweight division before the bout, and the loss drops him to 17-7, also snapping a two-fight winning streak.
Cannonier lost a middleweight championship shot against then-title-holder Israel Adesanya at UFC 276 on July 2.
Imavov elevates to 14-4 and gets his sixth knockout victory.
He entered the bout No. 7 in the middleweight rankings and will likely jump into the top five now.
