Never in UFC history have we seen a fighter get dropped eight times.
The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi this weekend with a stacked Fight Night card featuring Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder in the main event and Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee in the co-main.
The second fight of the night featured an all-action featherweight battle between Steven Nguyen and Dubai’s Mohammad Yahya.
It was largely one-way traffic for Nguyen, who picked up his first UFC win in one of the most lopsided fights we’ve ever seen in the Octagon.
According to the UFC statistics, Yahya suffered an official six knockdowns to break the record for most knockdowns in a UFC fight. The fighter was dropped eight times overall, six times in the first round.
Referee Jason Herzog ultimately called the stop to the contest at the end of round 2 after a horrible eye injury for Yahya, but some fans believe he should have done it sooner.
Fans criticize Jason Herzog for not stopping UFC Abu Dhabi fight sooner
Herzog is one of the more notable referees in MMA today, letting Yahya continue as the fighter got back up to his feet each time he was dropped.
Yahya was saved by the bell at the end of round 1. The fighter came out guns blazing against Nguyen in round 2 but wasn’t able to find the finish.
By the end of the second round, one of Yahya’s eyes was swelled shut and the fans weren’t too happy with the referee for letting the fight go on for as long as it did.
“The referee has to be held accountable for this, he should have stopped the fight in round one,” one fan wrote on X.
“Get Jason Herzog out of the sport. He is clueless. Went from the best ref into the absolute worst of the worst,” a fan criticized.
“Don’t let Herzog ref again. Yahya was literally out cold at end of round 1,” another fan chimed in.
Jason Herzog called his last Fight Night main event stoppage a ‘little early’
Weeks before UFC Abu Dhabi, Herzog was the referee for the main event of UFC Nashville between heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Tallison Teixeira.
Herzog wasn’t absent from controversy as the referee stopped the contest in the opening round after Teixeira illegally grabbed the cage to hoist himself up after a knockdown.
Speaking to veteran referee John McCarthy, Herzog admits he stopped the contest prematurely.
“He goes, so I would say it was a little bit early because I have to change what I’m doing. I have to look at it,” McCarthy said of his conversation with Herzog on the Weighing In Podcast.
“And we talked about it and stuff, and this is what happens. You are responsible for someone’s health and safety, and sometimes it’s hard to let things go,” McCarthy said of Herzog’s past stoppage.