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 gave the impression to be at the very least yet one more than the official quantity) in opposition to Yahya en path to a dominant second-round knockout, which was solely known as on the very finish of the interval on account of a health care provider 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 mentioned. “Possibly I ought to name my pal 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 lots to unpack right here. … Jason Herzog was the referee for [Daniel] Zellhuber and [Esteban] Ribovics and in the event 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 time limit, however I believed Zellhuber ought to have form of been saved to possibly stay to combat one other day, and the outcome was that Herzog moderately masterfully let the combat play out and the outcome was the Struggle of the Yr.
“However my thesis all the time 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 mentioned in the direction of the tip of Spherical 2, ‘This combat’s not going to proceed, proper? As a result of finally a doctor’s going to become involved right here,’” Anik mentioned. “Bisping first known 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 imagine we’re not assessing concussive harm stay within the minute, however after myriad knockdowns—I’m not saying there must be a knockdown rule in combined martial arts, nevertheless it does exist for a purpose, however after six or seven of those f*cking issues, we are able to 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 known as him out for stopping the UFC Nashville essential 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 arms to try to get well.
Anik sympathizes with Herzog, who’s coping with the blame for 2 reverse sorts of errors.
“You’re damned in the event you do, you’re damned in the event you don’t,” Anik mentioned. “All of them join collectively. We will suppose again to Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry. I simply suppose, Kevin MacDonald, quite a lot of early stoppages in his profession as a referee and I’ve mentioned repeatedly that as a ref you’ll be universally praised—I assume not universally, however the consensus goes to reward you in the event you let a combat go lengthy and chaos Struggle-of-the-Yr-type shit ensues.
“You’ll be roundly criticized in the event you cease a combat too early, particularly in a giant setting like a essential occasion or a title combat.”
As for Yahya’s nook, Anik doesn’t suppose they need to be absolved of accountability both.
“Lots,” Anik mentioned 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 suppose we’d like a three-knockdown rule in MMA, however how about this, in the event you get knocked down 5 occasions in an MMA spherical, do you suppose it’s honest that they cease the combat?”
