"Referee wanted Bobby Green to die" - UFC world rages in uproar over "horrible," "worst" late stoppage at UFC Austin 

The UFC Austin co-main event saw Jalin Turner score a knockout win over veteran fighter Bobby Green in the first round. However, the finishing sequence stirred a lot of controversy as the referee allowed Turner to land a number of shots after Green stopped defending.

No.12-ranked lightweight Jalin Turner stepped up to fight Bobby Green in the UFC Austin co-main event. This was after Green’s original opponent Dan Hooker had to pull out of the contest due to an arm injury that required surgery.

After a few initial exchanges, Turner dropped Green with a right hand to the head. The 6’3” tall Turner rained down vicious shots on the veteran fighter after he went tumbling down to the canvas. Green tried to defend the initial strikes and appeared to be trying to get back up. However, he stopped responding after absorbing a few clean shots to the head.

Referee Kerry Hatley allowed ‘The Tarantula’ to land several blows to the head of an unresponsive Green before finally stopping the contest at the 2:49 mark.

Watch the finish below:

The MMA community criticized Hatley for the late stoppage that could potentially put Green’s health at risk.

Here are some of the reactions:

@oocmma wrote:

“Oh my god! That referee wanted Bobby Green to die.”

@Gianettimma commented:

"The WORST stoppage I’ve ever seen. Give Turner 50k and give that ref his walking papers!"

@MMARoasted joked:

“This ref thought the Ivan Drago/Apollo Creed fight was stopped way too early.”

Fellow lightweight fighter Dustin Poirier commented:

“Maaan horrible stoppage.”

Fan reactions to the stoppage

Bobby Green graced the UFC octagon four times in 2023. After starting the year with a no-contest against Jared Gordon, ‘King’ scored impressive wins over former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and Grant Dawson. Meanwhile, Jalin Turner was coming off back-to-back split-decision losses against Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker.