UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen has an interesting theory behind the controversial stoppage of Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira.
UFC heavyweight star Derrick Lewis turned away another surging contender by 35-second knockout at UFC Nashville on Saturday. Lewis defeated Tallison Teixeira by TKO after dropping the talented Brazilian with a right hand just seconds into the fight, followed by brutal follow-up strikes.
Teixeira immediately protested referee Jason Herzog‘s stoppage as Lewis ran around the Octagon to celebrate his victory. UFC CEO Dana White and others have criticized Herzog for pulling the quick trigger on stopping the fight.
Chael Sonnen believes referee Jason Herzog didn’t intend to wave off UFC Nashville main event
UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier took the opposite approach. Cormier recently defended the Lewis/Teixeira stoppage due to Teixeira getting away with a fence grab as Lewis rained down heavy punches.
Cormier’s ESPN co-host, Chael Sonnen, went a step further during a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy.
“You have to watch the ending of that fight, fairly closely to see this. But there is a clear rule infraction not once, but twice, with the grabbing of the fence,” Sonnen said.
“It changed the position, got him back up to his feet. A lot of times a referee will let an exchange finish and then make a ruling. Not in a case like that when you lose position, the ref has to step in right then and put Teixeira down, put the Black Beast on top of him, and they’ll continue from there. I don’t think he intended to call that a TKO, I don’t think he intended to stop that fight.
“My own conspiracy, but I believe he was stopping the action to offer discipline, 1 point for the fence grab. Derrick starts celebrating, crowd starts reacting…all the makings of a TKO and my own belief is that they just went with it. I believe that’s what I saw! They called it an early stoppage because, well yeah, it wasn’t supposed to be a stoppage.”
In Teixeira’s first post-fight remarks, he didn’t acknowledge the controversial stoppage as he looks to bounce back from his first career loss.
Herzog later told long-tenured referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy that after watching the fight back, he believes he made a mistake in stopping the fight when he did. Herzog is regarded by many as one of the best officials in modern MMA, although the best referees can still make mistakes.
Referee Jason Herzog admitted stoppage was ‘a little bit early’
Lewis vs. Teixeira capped off an eventful night of fights at UFC Nashville. Former UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson and surging welterweight Gabriel Bonfim battled in a wild co-main event, while rising stars like Morgan Charriere added value with big finishes.
Lewis is knocking on the door of a potential heavyweight title shot after UFC Nashville. He’s one of the few top contenders who hasn’t faced undisputed heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, and Aspinall is expected to defend his belt later this year.
Time will tell if Lewis will get a third crack at earning a UFC title.
- READ MORE: UFC Nashville referee reaches new conclusion after reliving controversial Derrick Lewis stoppage