Jhonata Diniz was fuming after suffering the first defeat of his professional MMA career.
The 33-year-old put his 8-0 record on the line against #9 ranked heavyweight contender Marcin Tybura at UFC 309, which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night.
Diniz earned his spot in MMA’s premier promotion by impressing Dana White on the Contender Series in September 2023, and since then he’s picked up back-to-back UFC wins that have fast-tracked him towards the heavyweight top 15.
However, he found out that there’s levels to this game against Tybura, who is a 35-fight MMA veteran.
Jhonata Diniz protests doctor stoppage defeat
A huge flaw in Diniz’s game was exploited by Tybura throughout their two-round scrap.
The 39-year-old from Poland repeatedly took him down to the floor and kept him there.
At the end of the second round, Tybura unleashed a series of ferocious elbows that left Diniz covered in blood and ‘leaking like a faucet’, according to UFC 309 commentator Joe Rogan, as three nasty cuts opened up on his face before the horn sounded to seemingly save him from a TKO defeat.
A member of the Diniz corner stormed into the Octagon and dragged his fighter upright, but it proved to be a grave mistake as the Brazilian appeared to be struggling to remain on his feet.
Two doctors entered the cage to assess the damage. The cuts didn’t seem to be bad enough to end the fight, but after speaking with the doctors, Herb Dean waved off the fight as Diniz was deemed to be in no fit state to continue.
Diniz immediately began arguing with the cageside medical professionals, but it was too late, as his undefeated run was officially over.
Jon Anik revealed on the UFC 309 broadcast that Diniz being pulled out had nothing to do with his blood-soaked face and everything to do with the fact he was unsteady on his feet in between rounds.
Jhonata Diniz was supposed to face Derrick Lewis at UFC Edmonton
A career-first defeat tops off a turbulent two-week period for Diniz.
The former kickboxer was supposed to square off against Derrick Lewis at UFC Edmonton on November 2, but the biggest fight of his career was called off after both men had successfully made weight for the event.
Lewis skipped the ceremonial weigh-in before being pulled from the card entirely due to a ‘medical issue’
It remains unclear exactly what happened to ‘The Black Beast’, but it has been repeatedly made clear that the health problem he experienced had nothing to do with cutting weight.
Coach Bob Perez stopped short of revealing exactly what medical issues Lewis is dealing with, but he did assure worried fans that the UFC KO record holder is doing well.
“As you know, Derrick was not medically cleared to fight tonight,” Perez revealed on social media.
“It is a medical issue unrelated to weight cut. He’s doing fine.
“Thank you for reaching out to check on him.”