One of the worst MMA stoppages of the year took place in the PFL on Friday night.
We’ve seen a number of questionable stoppages over the summer, with longtime referee Jason Herzog taking heat for what fans are calling an early stoppage of Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira and a late stoppage at UFC Abu Dhabi where one fighter suffered a record six knockdowns and a horrific eye injury.
This week, another referee came under fire for not stopping a fight after a PFL fighter tapped out to a submission he could not get out of.
Ireland’s Nathan Kelly went out cold 11 seconds later, with his head bouncing off the canvas.
Referee completely misses tap-out, lets PFL fighter go unconscious
Canada’s Frederik Dupras improved to 9-2 with a second-round submission win over Kelly at PFL World Tournament 8 on Friday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
In the final frame of the fight, Dupras locked in a guillotine choke on Kelly and his opponent was forced to tap out. Right before he did, referee Giovanna Scano ran to the other side to get another angle, completely missing the tap.
Dupras didn’t let go of the choke because the referee didn’t stop the contest and Kelly proceeded to go unconscious in the chokehold.
When the referee finally put a stop to the contest 11 seconds later, Dupras kicked Kelly off of him and Kelly’s head hit the canvas.
Fans criticize referee for late stoppage
Referee Giovanna Scano wasn’t free from criticism following the stoppage.
Had Scano stayed in the same position for a second or two longer, she would have seen Kelly tap out to the submission.
Fans were quick to judge after Kelly went out the way he did.
“Ref doesn’t pay any attention to the unconscious man, just lets the back of his head SLAM on the canvas. You can literally hear it,” one fan wrote on X.
“Dupras kicking him off didn’t help either, that whole situation was unnecessary and preventable,” another fan wrote.
“Never let her ref a fight again,” another fan said.