Even though the card has been considered an exciting one, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the co-main event of Saturday’s “UFC on FOX 23”. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone stepped into the octagon hoping to extend his four-fight win streak at the expense of Jorge Masvidal, but Masvidal was looking to turn some heads in Cerrone’s hometown of Denver, Colorado.
After Cerrone started to attack the body and leg of Masvidal in the first, “Gamebred” turned up the pace and cracked Cerrone with a stiff combination with just seconds remaining in the round. Cerrone was seemingly out of it and referee Herb Dean stepped in to wave off the action due to the round’s conclusion, not because of the knockout. Cerrone’s eyes were glazed over in his corner, but the doctor saw fit to let him continue to fight.
Cerrone made his way back to the center of the octagon for the second round where he lasted all of one minute before getting knocked out for the finish. UFC President Dana White was cageside for the action and explained his reaction to the finish to the media [via. MMA Fighting] after the fight:
“I picked up the phone and called production and said, ‘was that correct, was it the end of the round?’ It wasn’t. It wasn’t the end of the round, [Herb Dean] stopped it early. But, not to defend Herb Dean, it was so loud in that arena I didn’t hear it either. Maybe you guys heard it, that you were sitting closer to it, but I didn’t hear it.”
