"Derrick Lewis got up and left in one piece" - Chael Sonnen backs referee Dan Miragliotta for Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich stoppage

Sergei Pavlovich and Derrick Lewis' fight stoppage has been a hot topic coming from UFC 277 and Chael Sonnen weighed in.

On a recent episode of Beyond The Fight, Sonnen discussed multiple topics including the duties of the in-cage official. He also began gaging fan interest if an immediate rematch should happen.

Commenting on the notion that Lewis versus Pavlovich was an early stoppage, Sonnen said:

"It wasn't for me and I did see two different things. When this is live and in real time, I thought Sergei hit him about fifteen times unanswered. The big guy went down and big Dan Miragliotta did absolutely the right thing. When I watched it on replay, it was different. Most of those punches missed but not all of them."

Chael Sonnen continued:

"It only takes one. If a guy gets swarmed whether they're missing or not and it sent him down, that referee has an obligation. Once somebody goes down and they then get cracked at full speed, that referee has an obligation. Which is what Big Dan did. That is not being questioned...Derrick Lewis got up and left in one piece."

Watch the video below:

Pavlovich finished Lewis 55 seconds into the first frame of the fight via punches during their July 30 collision. Despite the controversial nature of the stoppage, this was undoubtedly a statement win for Pavlovich.

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Sergei Pavlovich's MMA resume

Following last weekend's fistic fireworks, Pavlovich improved his overall mixed martial arts record to 16 wins opposite a single defeat. The win also vaulted Sergei Pavlovich to six spots higher in the rankings. He is now the No. 5 ranked UFC heavyweight contender.

Sergei Pavlovich cut his teeth on the Russian circuit. He eventually became the Fight Nights Global heavyweight champion before transitioning to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

His lone career loss up until this point took place in his debut outing for the UFC. Pavlovich fell to Alistair Overeem via first-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 141 in November 2018.

Before this recent Lewis victory, Pavlovich previously defeated Marcelo Golm, Maurice Greene, and Shamil Abdurakhimov. All four of his UFC victories so far have come by way of first-round finishes utilizing his brick fists.

In fact, 14 out of his 16 total career wins have come by way of a first-round finish.