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A wild moment erupted between two flyweights after their fight was called off by the referee during the preliminary card of UFC 259 on Saturday night.
No. 8 ranked Kai Kara-France finished Rogerio Bontorin, who is also ranked at No. 8, by first-round TKO, but the bout ended with controversy.
After surviving an onslaught of submissions on the ground, Kara-France dropped Bontorin with three consecutive right-hand blows and then threw up his hands in victory, walking away from his opponent. As Kara-France walked off, referee Herb Dean wrapped his arms around the fighter to stop him from engaging and then made his way to the downed Bontorin.
Then, Kara-France charged back at Bontorin preparing to throw what appeared to be a hammer fist, however Dean stopped the flyweight before he could land the shot. Bontorin then got back to his feet after Kara-France started celebrating his victory and he threw his mouthpiece at “Dont Blink.”
It was a confusing moment all around and it can be seen below:
With the victory, Kara-France improved his professional MMA record to 22-9 with one no contest. Bontorin’s record fell to 16-3 with one no contest.
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MMA Community Reacts to the Confusing Stoppage
The Mac Life’s Oscar Willis wrote, “Herb Dean grabbing Kai Kara-France around his waist signals the end of the fight.”
TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter asked, “Did Herb Dean not stop the fight?”
Bleacher Report’s Tom Taylor wrote, “Herb clearly stopped that. Dunno what Joe is on about. Then again, I rarely do.”
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