UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal received a swift victory over Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC FOX 23 in Denver, Colorado by way of technical knockout early in the second round. Yet, some seem to believe that his victory should have been a little sooner that it was.
The revered MMA referee Herb Dean made a call to not stop the fight after a first round pummeling by Jorge Masvidal. Too close to the bell, Dean decided to forgo the first round knockout, saving ‘The Cowboy’ by the bell.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, Masvidal said
“I wasn’t confused at all. Herb Dean pulled me back. Then I heard the bell. … You can see on TV the bell sounds, and he pulls me right after. I’m not complaining. I’ll take the double knockout. Not a lot of people get those in a night.”
Dana White even put in his two cents on the matter, noting
“I picked up the phone and called (the production team) and said, ‘Was that correct? Was it the end of the round?'” He continued. “It wasn’t. It wasn’t the end of the round. He stopped it early. But, to defend Herb Dean, it was so loud in that arena that I didn’t hear it either. Maybe you guys heard it (since) you’re sitting closer to it, but I didn’t hear it. … It is what it is. Mistakes are going to happen.”
It is not uncommon for controversy to fall upon the referees, no matter the sport. Still, Masvidal does seem to have a point. Not many people can have multiple knockouts in a single night.
