Bobby Green lay on the mat, defenseless, as Jalin Turner continued to land strikes on him. Referee Kerry Hatley drew harsh criticism by Dana White and others for this decision due to his delayed stoppage in UFC Fight Night.
Green was allowed to exit the Octagon by himself after the lightweight bout was stopped in the first round. Later, on social media, he congratulated Turner on winning.
A Mistake By The Referee Causes Dissatisfaction In UFC: Dana White Reaction
Turner, however, acknowledged that he thought about ending the fight but expressed caution about Green putting on a comeback.
When referees make mistakes in the octagon, Dana White has not hesitated to call them out. The promotional figurehead blasted the stoppage of Jalin Turner’s first-round knockout victory against Bobby Green at UFC Austin, which was horribly late. He refrained from being very critical of Kerry Hatley, though.
The CEO of the UFC said the following during the post-fight news conference on ESPN 52:
“One of the worst [stoppages] I’ve ever seen… The difference is we’ve had some refs say some dumb s**t in the past like, ‘Oh, I allowed her to be a warrior tonight’ and goofy s**t like that. He knows that he made a mistake tonight and he does not feel good about it so, yeah, it’s unfortunate… Definitely a bad stoppage.”
Hatley did not seem to be defending and was probably unconscious when he let Green take about twenty unanswered blows to the head. The seasoned referee received a lot of criticism from competitors and spectators for not intervening to stop the fight in order to protect “King.”
The late stoppage was criticized by UFC Hall of Famers Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, who both worked as commentators for UFC Austin. During his appearance on ESPN on Saturday night, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping called the behavior “disgusting and disgraceful.”
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