"He was seriously hurt" – 'Big' John McCarthy gives his take on the controversial stoppage in the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira fight

In a surprising turn of events, Israel Adesanya was TKO'd in the fifth round of his middleweight title fight. Prior to the controversial stoppage by referee Marc Goddard, Adesanya was up 3-1 through four rounds on all judges' scorecards. 'Big' John McCarthy has agreed with the referee's call.

'Poatan' promised violence in the build-up to the clash. However, he was almost finished at the end of the first round after a well-placed two-punch combination from the champion. Despite being outclassed for the majority of the bout, the Brazilian came up big when needed and found the finish midway through the final round.

Legendary referee 'Big' John McCarthy dismissed the claims that the fight was stopped early, insisting that Israel Adesanya was seriously hurt during the closing exchange:

"No [it wasn't an early stoppage]. I had certain criteria and certain rules, and when I had someone like Izzy in there, I would try to give them everything that I could. If they start to get into the deep waters and the water is starting to go over their head, I would let Izzy be underwater longer than I would other people, based upon he deserves it, he's proven himself... I wanna give him everything that I can. But, that doesn't mean that I have to see that last nail in the coffin... I'm okay with that [stoppage], he was seriously hurt."

As the controversy rages on, Israel Adesanya himself believes he was still in the fight despite taking a number of unanswered shots from Pereira. He then gave props to the new middleweight champion.

Check out what 'Big' John McCarthy had to say about the stoppage during the UFC 281 headliner in the video below:

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Should Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira be booked in an instant rematch?

Although he is 0-3 against Alex Pereira across two combat sports, Israel Adesanya's dominance throughout his years in the UFC warrants an immediate rematch.

Not only has he been a long-reigning UFC champion, but 'The Last Stylebender' was competitive in each of his losing efforts against the former two-division Glory kickboxing champion.

While both fighters may need a short break, the rematch between newly crowned champion Alex Pereira and former titleholder Israel Adesanya could possibly be one of the biggest events in UFC history. Talks are ongoing for the promotion to make their debut in Nigeria, which would be the perfect destination for the title rematch.