"Almost caused a death" - Internet criticizes veteran MMA referee Dan Miragliotta for Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira stoppage

The stoppage of the Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira fight by veteran MMA referee Dan Miragliotta has drawn attention from MMA fans all around the world. Miragliotta's late decision to end the bout seems to have infuriated many.

Ngannou competed in an MMA fight for the first time in close to three years as he made his PFL debut against Ferreira for the heavyweight title at the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants card this past Saturday at the Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In his last MMA outing at UFC 270 in January 2022, 'The Predator' successfully defended his heavyweight title with a unanimous decision win against Ciryl Gane. Meanwhile, Ferreira entered the title fight with a first-round TKO win against Ryan Bader at the PFL vs. Bellator card earlier this year.

In their fight, following some early exchanges, Ngannou dodged Ferreira's attack and landed a takedown, holding his opponent against the cage. The Brazilian then threatened with a triangle choke, but the 38-year-old managed to get out of it.

Ngannou then went on to land devastating shots from the top which forced Miragliotta to step in and call off the fight in the opening round.

Check out Francis Ngannou's TKO win below:

Fans soon took to X and shared their reactions, with one fan slamming Miragliotta, writing:

''BTW, Dan Miragliotta almost caused a death''

Another fan stated:

''Dan Miragliotta need real fu**ing glasses next time he refs a fight because what the f**k was that stoppage lmao''

Other fans wrote:

''There's a real chance that Dan Miragliotta thinks heavyweight heads are full of candy and he's waiting for a bigger guy to crack one open for him''

''Dan Miragliotta was here to see a dead body. Good lord that was violent. Francis Ngannou still that guy. #PFLSuperFights''

Check out more reactions below:

Screenshots of fan reactions on X to Dan Miragliotta's stoppage of Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira fight