UFC Vegas 107 may not have been particularly memorable, but it did see one fighter land a frightening finish.
Before opening its June schedule with the UFC 316 pay-per-view on June 7, MMA’s leading promotion had business to attend to inside the low-capacity Apex venue.
The card was a low-key affair, both in terms of name value and much of the action on fight night. But there were still highlights for fans and analysts to digest, including a submission for ex-Paddy Pimblett opponent Jordan Leavitt and a knockout by former Alex Pereira rival Dustin Jacoby.
But it was another moment that had one UFC fighter up in arms.
Nazim Sadykhov unhappy with broadcast’s handling of Billy Ray Goff’s UFC Vegas 107 loss
Among the standout performers at UFC Vegas 107 was Ramiz Brahimaj, a welterweight prospect who was making his seventh appearance inside the Octagon.
The 32-year-old secured his first win streak in the UFC by choking out Billy Ray Goff with a tight high-elbow guillotine choke.
After being rendered unconscious by the move, fans were given a close-up shot of Goff courtesy of a new referee cam attached to Chris Tognoni.
The UFC production team’s decision to switch to that brutal shot caused some controversy, with Sadykhov standing up for his fellow fighter.
“Not gonna lie this camera work is pure disrespect,” Sadykhov wrote on X. “Get out of an unconscious fighter’s face.”
The Azerbaijani fighter expanded on that point in another post, insisting there was no need to broadcast such a close view of Goff while he lay unconscious.
“My take on it is let the unconscious fighter have a minute. It’s the lowest moment for him/her. [Obviously] it’s on live TV but no reason to zoom into someone’s nostrils.”
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UFC Vegas 107 had an anticlimactic ending after sudden cancellation
While Brahimaj’s impressive submission marked the high of UFC Vegas 107, the scheduled main event was undeniably the low.
Top five flyweight contenders Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber were set to close out the show, with both women looking to stake their claim for a shot at Valentina Shevchenko’s title.
Just minutes before their headliner, however, a medical issue for Barber canceled the Blanchfield main event.
‘Cold Blooded’ was subsequently given her show and win money by the UFC but missed out on the opportunity to rival Natalia Silva and strawweight queen Zhang Weili in flyweight title contention.