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Whether a stoppage is good or bad is often a topic of debate among UFC fans. Referees like Herb Dean have, in recent times, become less unsure about whether to stop a fight when a fighter appears to be in need of intervention.
Some officials are responsible for the frustrating early stoppages that rob fighters of the opportunity for a comeback.
Other referees, however, are a cause for concern due to allowing fighters to endure unnecessary punishment or extending the time they offer mixed martial artists to recover in the octagon as they're left at the mercy of a disturbing amount of unanswered blows. For every late and early stoppage, however, there is a timely one.
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Stoppages are difficult, as referees must make the decision to preserve a fighter's well-being without interfering with a still capable fighter's chances of turning a bout around. This list examines 5 timely stoppages that deserve praise.
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#5. Joanna Jędrzejczyk vs. Carla Esparza stoppage (UFC 185)
UFC 185 was headlined by Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos in a bout that saw the UFC lightweight championship swap owners after a dominant performance by the Brazilian.
While the main event featured no finish, with the verdict being decided by the judges' scorecards, the co-main event was different in that respect. It did, however, match the main event's narrative of the reigning champion being thoroughly dominated by the challenger.
Joanna Jędrzejczyk locked horns with the now two-time strawweight champion, Carla Esparza. The matchup was refereed by Don Turnage in one of the veteran's finest performances.
While much is said about Jędrzejczyk's violent win over her opponent, Turnage’s timely stoppage is deserving of praise as well. In the final phase of the bout, Esparza had no chance of turning things around.
Jędrzejczyk had neutralized her wrestling at every turn, forcing 'The Cookie Monster' into a striking affair that she was ill-equipped to win. Sandwiched between the fence and Jędrzejczyk, Esparza was brutalized by an onslaught of unanswered strikes.
Rocked and battered by every blow coming her way, Esparza was done. Referee Don Turnage immediately stepped in, calling an end to the bout. A half-second after Jędrzejczyk turned away to celebrate, Esparza collapsed only to be caught by Turnage. He had stopped the fight right before she would have suffered a more brutal knockout.
#4. Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey stoppage (UFC 207)
Amanda Nunes is the most powerful puncher in women's MMA. Her jab-right cross combination has overcome countless foes, shocking her divisional rivals with the amount of firepower she carries in every blow.
When Nunes was scheduled to face Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 in the latter's return bout to the UFC after a year-long absence from mixed martial arts, no one except Rousey's most ardent supporters gave her a chance at besting Nunes. Rousey's defensive striking, after all, has always had cause for concern.
The former Olympic judoka never tucked her chin, did not move her head off the center-line, and never learned how to move laterally, only ever bull-rushing forward in a straight line.
Against a longer, far more powerful striker with a preference for straight punches down the middle, Rousey's loss was inevitable. At UFC 207, it was a short affair.
Nunes snapped her foe's head back with strike after strike, rocking Rousey into a defensive, stumbling shell before referee Herb Dean stepped in to wave the fight off before she could ever hit the canvas. Rousey's consciousness was spared, and the stoppage was well-received as 'Rowdy' was on borrowed time.
#3. Song Yadong vs. Marlon Moraes stoppage (UFC Vegas 50)
In MMA, when a fighter hits the canvas after suffering a crushing blow from their foe, fights aren't usually stopped. The winning mixed martial artist is empowered by a rule-set that permits them to follow their felled foes to the ground to land additional strikes.
If their opponents are not defending themselves intelligently and enduring too many unanswered strikes, then the bout will warrant a stoppage. Unfortunately, judging whether a fight should be waved off before or after a fighter collapses is difficult.
However, when Keith Peterson officiated the fight between Song Yadong and Marlon Moraes, he called an end to the bout at the appropriate time. Moraes, now a retired fighter, was on a three-fight losing streak.
All three of his preceding losses came via knockout. So when Yadong, a surging power puncher, dropped the Brazilian with a well-timed uppercut, Keith Peterson saw enough.
Moraes was dazed, having been rocked several times before the uppercut. When the Brazilian collapsed, Peterson waved off the fight with a good stoppage that prevented Moraes from suffering any unnecessary damage. The Brazilian, it seems, agreed, retiring soon after the bout.
#2. Rafael Fiziev vs. Brad Riddell stoppage (UFC on ESPN)
The UFC lightweight division is a shark tank. From top to bottom, it is overflowing with skilled fighters of every variety. When Jose Aldo faced Rob Font in the main event of a UFC on ESPN card, they were joined by Rafael Fiziev and Brad Riddell, who fought under them in the co-main event.
Brad Riddell is a kickboxer by trade, training out of City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand alongside Israel Adesanya. When he and Fiziev crossed paths, Riddell was 10-1, riding a seven-fight win streak. Fiziev, a former Russian Muay Thai kickboxing champion, was also a 10-1 fighter at the time.
The bout proved to be one of the most compelling matchups of the event. While Fiziev was in solid control of the fight, the action arose from both fighters. Perhaps no one could have predicted what was to come in the third round.
A finish didn't seem in sight as neither fighter was seriously hurt prior to the fight-ending sequence. Yet, as Riddell found himself trapped between the fence and his foe, he circled to his right, unknowingly moving into the path of a lightning-quick spinning wheel kick that intercepted him, stunning him so badly he froze.
Referee Herb Dean immediately recognized the danger in allowing Riddell to continue, stepping in with a timely stoppage. Seconds later, the New Zealander collapsed.
#1. Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Chung stoppage (UFC 273)
Fighters place a significant amount of pride on their toughness and heart. The ability to endure punishment in the octagon and persevere is often viewed with honor, and doing so is considered a rite of passage.
Chan Sung Chung, better-known as 'The Korean Zombie', is widely celebrated for his iron chin and nearly supernatural toughness. He is notoriously difficult to finish via strikes, and is known to weather storms in the octagon. However, when he encountered Alexander Volkanovski, Chung met the limits of his legendary durability.
At UFC 273, the bout between the two was a stunning one-sided affair. 'The Korean Zombie' struggled to land any meaningful strikes while also finding himself unable to avoid the increasing punishment he was receiving from Volkanovski's pull-counters and sharp 1-2 combinations.
The sheer speed the Australian possessed was too great for Chung to contend with, and over the course of multiple rounds, he was stunned, rocked, and wobbled.
Never had fight fans seen the Korean great so thoroughly dominated before. When he stumbled after another Volkanovski assault in the fourth round, Herb Dean mercifully waved the fight off in a stoppage that received widespread praise as Chung was on course for a life-altering beating.
