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In the UFC world, there are few more frustrating things to see for both the fighters and the fans alike than a clash that is stopped at the wrong time.
Over the years we’ve seen UFC fights that have both been stopped too early and others that have seemed to go on for far too long, something that could be considered highly dangerous.
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Of course, no referee inside the octagon intends to get a call wrong, but at the end of the day, they’re only human, so errors are bound to occur.
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With that in mind, here are five UFC bouts that were stopped too early and five that were stopped too late.
#5. Too Early: Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich – UFC 277
The latest entry on this list took place just last weekend at UFC 277 and saw former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis controversially stopped by rising prospect Sergei Pavlovich in just under a minute.
The two big men were expected to trade bombs, with many fans giving Lewis the edge thanks to his thunderous punching power. Coming into the bout, ‘The Black Beast’ held the record for the most knockouts in the promotion’s history with 13.
However, Pavlovich’s speed appeared to be an issue for Lewis right away, and in a big exchange, the Russian tagged ‘The Black Beast’ with a right hand to the jaw. From there, he quickly followed with a combination that had Lewis hurt, sending him backpedalling.
Pavlovich quickly followed up with another flurry, but while Lewis was clearly in trouble – tumbling to the ground at one point – he quickly got back to his feet, meaning that when referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in, he appeared to be capable of continuing.
Understandably, both Lewis and the fans in his home state of Texas weren’t too happy with the stoppage, and in a lot of ways, it overshadowed the biggest win of Pavlovich’s career, too.
Indeed, in the post-event press conference, UFC President Dana White outright stated that he too felt the stoppage was early – although he did say that Miragliotta’s actions were understandable based on the way Lewis fell.
#4. Too Early: Drew Dober vs. Leandro Silva – UFC Fight Night 62
One of the most controversial early stoppages from the UFC in recent years came in the promotion’s 2015 visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fight in question saw such a strange refereeing call that the result was in fact later overturned.
Drew Dober’s lightweight bout with Leandro Silva was expected to be a brawl of sorts, with both men holding reputations as heavy-hitting strikers. However, after a back-and-forth opening round, the second round saw Silva determined to bring the fight to the ground.
After a scramble saw Dober escape to his feet, Silva decided to jump into a guillotine choke attempt. He tried to pull guard, but only managed to drag Dober into a loose half-guard instead. It appeared that the Colorado-based fighter would free his head easily.
Incredibly, though, just as Dober looked to be on the verge of escaping, referee Eduardo Herdy stepped in and waved the fight off, claiming that the former TUF contestant had gone unconscious.
Naturally, confusion followed before Dober was left irate about the decision, as it was clear to everyone watching – outside of Herdy, of course – that he was clearly still in the fight.
It came as no surprise, then, when the result was overturned by the Brazilian MMA Commission just days after the event, with Herdy’s gaffe being recognised. The statement even claimed that Herdy himself understood his error and praised his professionalism in the process.
#3. Too early: Ion Cutelaba vs. Magomed Ankalaev – UFC Fight Night 169
When hard-hitting light-heavyweight prospects Ion Cutelaba and Magomed Ankalaev were matched against one another on February 2020’s UFC Fight Night 169 card, many fans figured that fireworks would ensue, particularly after the two men went nose-to-nose at the weigh-ins.
However, the fight that resulted ended up being a huge anticlimax, as referee Kevin MacDonald ended up producing one of the worst stoppages in recent memory after just 38 seconds.
Prior to that, the fight was going exactly as it’d been advertised, as both Cutelaba and Ankalaev exchanged wildly from the off, with both men landing shots. When Ankalaev landed a trio of head kicks, though, ‘The Hulk’ was left looking wobbly on his feet.
Cutelaba backed up and continued to eat bombs from his Dagestani foe – although none of them really landed cleanly – but before the Moldovan fighter could have a chance to fire back, MacDonald inexplicably stepped in to stop proceedings.
His reason for stopping the fight was anyone’s guess, particularly as a shocked Cutelaba began to scream furiously at the official, gobsmacked at the stoppage.
Understandably, boos quickly rained down on the octagon as Ankalaev was declared the winner via TKO, and although he would prove his superiority in a rematch – knocking Cutelaba out cold – the way this one was stopped still grates to this day.
#2. Too early: Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman – UFC 115
Sometimes, it’s tricky for a referee to work out whether a fighter has or hasn’t gone unconscious during a guillotine choke attempt, so the UFC has seen a number of fights stopped early over the years due to the hold.
However, the fact that experienced referee Yves Lavigne didn’t realize that Mac Danzig was still conscious during his lightweight bout with Matt Wiman at UFC 115 was a genuine head-scratcher.
The fight was barely a minute old when a scramble saw the two men exchange positions on the ground, and eventually, Wiman was able to lock up a guillotine attempt and sweep over into a mounted position.
However, it quickly became clear that Danzig wasn’t in too much danger despite the bad position, as ‘Handsome Matt’ hadn’t quite gotten his grip correct, leaving one side of the TUF 6 winner’s neck open to allow blood to continue to flow to his brain.
Sure enough, Danzig even raised his arm and gave his corner the thumbs up – only for Lavigne to step in moments later and call the fight off.
The crowd in attendance immediately began to boo, while both Danzig and Wiman looked utterly baffled by the call. For Lavigne to miss Danzig’s neck being open was one thing, but how the Canadian official had missed the thumbs up was anyone’s guess.
To make matters even stranger, the promotion promised both men a rematch following the early stoppage, but it didn’t actually come until October 2011, some 16 months after the original bout.
#1. Too early: Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock – UFC 61
The most controversial early stoppage in UFC history remains Herb Dean’s decision to call off the rematch between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock in the summer of 2006. The stoppage arguably ruined UFC 61 entirely and turned what could’ve been a legendary show into a damp squib.
Sure, there wasn’t much logic behind the booking of the rematch, particularly as Ortiz had thoroughly beaten ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ in their first meeting. In addition, Shamrock – who’d turned 42 in early 2006 – was hardly in his physical prime.
However, fans definitely wanted to see the clash, particularly after the promotion used TUF 3 to reignite the legendary rivalry between the two, so by the time the bout came around, it was the talk of the MMA world.
Quickly, though, it also became a huge point of contention. Ortiz wasted no time in taking Shamrock to the ground with a high-impact slam, but when ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ followed up with a series of quick elbow strikes, Dean stepped in despite Shamrock seemingly still being conscious.
Naturally, ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ was utterly furious with the call – as were the crowd, who quickly showered Dean with boos and expletives. The whole thing had essentially become a farce.
Thankfully, the UFC were able to salvage things somewhat. Not only did the event break the promotion’s pay-per-view buyrate record at the time – drawing 775,000 buys – but they were also able to headline a later event with a third bout between the two, popping a big rating on Spike TV.
Unsurprisingly, that third bout was also won by Ortiz, but this time there was no controversy, as he clearly knocked Shamrock out with punches from the guard – with referee John McCarthy ensuring the veteran was clearly out before he stepped in.
While the above five bouts were clearly stopped too early, the next five appeared to have been allowed to go on for far too long, leaving the fighters involved in serious danger.
#5. Too late: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks – UFC 91
Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga is best remembered for his epic head-kick knockout of Mirko Cro Cop in early 2007, but in fact, that finish may not have been the most brutal of his octagon career.
Instead, it’s arguable that his knockout of the unheralded Josh Hendricks at UFC 91 in late 2008 was far nastier – largely because of a bizarre piece of officiating from referee Steve Mazzagatti.
The bout was just under a minute old when ‘Napao’ struck, landing a brutal knee to the body of Hendricks before dropping him with a straight right hand. The punch utterly folded ‘Heavy’, and it was clear to everyone that he was definitely done.
Gonzaga himself appeared to recognize this and seemed unwilling to drop any follow-up shots – but somehow, Mazzagatti refused to step in.
Instead, he bafflingly seemed to encourage ‘Napao’ to land two more violent shots – one that clearly knocked Hendricks completely unconscious – before calling the fight off.
Why Mazzagatti demanded such violence before stopping this fight was anyone’s guess, but thankfully, Hendricks did recover to continue fighting until 2014 – albeit outside the UFC.
#4. Too early: CB Dollaway vs. Khalid Murtazaliev – UFC Fight Night 136
By the time he fought newcomer Khalid Murtazaliev in late 2018 on the first ever UFC card to take place in Russia, it was clear that middleweight veteran CB Dollaway was probably past his prime.
‘The Doberman’ was on a two-fight winning streak coming into the bout, but at the age of 35, he was clearly slower than he’d been before. As such, it came as no surprise when Murtazaliev had him hurt in the early going with a kick to the body.
Dollaway did recover somewhat but ended up struggling through the first round, and things quickly got worse for him. The second round saw Murtazaliev take full mount, where he punished ‘The Doberman’ with brutal punches for just over two minutes.
All that Dollaway could do was attempt to roll onto his knees, covering his head and seemingly cowering – but for some reason, referee Herb Dean allowed the fight to go on, causing the veteran to take needless damage in the process.
Incredibly, the round was allowed to end, and the fight was only called off when Dollaway was unable to get to his feet.
To say that the UFC’s fanbase were horrified by the usually-consistent Dean’s performance would be an understatement. Dollaway himself later admitted being baffled by the official’s decision, stating that he felt he wasn’t adequately protected.
#3. Too late: Mostapha Al Turk vs. Cheick Kongo – UFC 92
When UK-based heavyweight veteran Mostapha Al Turk signed with the UFC in 2008, he was initially matched with an emerging Cain Velasquez in what felt like a horrible bout for him. When the future heavyweight champion pulled out of their clash, then, it felt like he’d dodged a bullet of sorts.
That turned out not to be the case, as Al Turk was instead paired with Cheick Kongo and ended up on the wrong end of a truly frightening late stoppage, courtesy of referee Steve Mazzagatti.
Al Turk didn’t look too bad in the early going of the fight, but as the opening round went on, Kongo began to take over with his striking and dropped the newcomer with a pair of right hands.
The Frenchman then pounced to finish things off, and in truth, the bout could easily have been stopped there. However, Mazzagatti clearly hadn’t seen enough.
Instead, he allowed Kongo to utterly destroy Al Turk with a vicious series of punches and elbows – slicing him open from the hairline to his eye – before finally stepping in after the debutant had eaten countless unanswered strikes.
The finish remains one of the scariest and most violent in UFC history – and it could easily have been avoided with a safer stoppage.
#2. Valentina Shevchenko vs. Priscila Cachoeira – UFC Fight Night 125
When former bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko announced her intentions to drop to the flyweight division in early 2018, most UFC fans believed that she would become an instant title contender in her new weight class.
However, rather than match ‘The Bullet’ with a highly ranked contender in her first bout at 125 pounds, the promotion’s matchmakers instead booked her against Priscila Cachoeira, an unheralded Brazilian debutant who had just a fraction of her foe’s experience.
Most fans expected a squash in favor of Shevchenko – but what they probably didn’t expect was a truly concerning performance from referee Mario Yamasaki, who allowed Cachoeira to take a criminal beating before the fight was mercifully stopped.
The first round was bad enough, as Shevchenko hurt the Brazilian with punches before smashing her with elbows on the ground, cutting Cachoeira open as she seemed barely able to defend herself. Realistically, Yamasaki could’ve stepped in there, but instead, the fight somehow went into the second round.
Things didn’t get better for Cachoeira, though. Again, the debutant found herself taken down where Shevchenko continued to punish her with relentless elbows and punches to practically no answer. Finally – perhaps sensing that Yamasaki wasn’t willing to stop the fight on a TKO – ‘The Bullet’ locked up a tight rear naked choke.
Even then, Cachoeira was forced to tap out frantically for far too long than was necessary before the fight was eventually called off. What took Yamasaki so long was anyone’s guess, but understandably, he came under plenty of fire following the bout for allowing the debutant to take so much pointless damage.
#1. Too late: Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill – UFC 263
The most recent example of a fight that was stopped far too late took place last summer at UFC 263 when light heavyweights Paul Craig and Jamahal Hill faced off.
In this instance, Hill didn’t eat too many strikes — he actually suffered a serious injury to his arm that somehow went ignored by inexperienced referee Al Guinee.
Things went downhill for ‘Sweet Dreams’ after Craig pulled guard early in the first round, clearly wanting nothing to do with his opponent standing. Hill decided to engage him from the guard, only for ‘Bearjew’ to quickly lock up an armbar variant that put plenty of torque on his left arm.
As Craig began to crank the limb, it appeared to both break and dislocate. The Scottish fighter seemed to realize this, looking towards Guinee to stop the fight.
Bizarrely, the official chose to ignore this – despite Hill’s arm dangling lifelessly – and so Craig was forced to land a series of heavy elbows to the head while still imploring Guinee to step in.
Finally – seemingly ages after the injury had taken place – the fight was stopped, and whether this was due to the elbows or the arm injury seemed to be a mystery of sorts.
Unsurprisingly after such a shocking performance, Guinee was not allowed to referee any further fights at the event, and afterwards, he came under serious fire from both UFC President Dana White and veteran referee John McCarthy, who stated that “when your referee stands by unaware that a man’s arm has been dislocated, we have serious issues”.
