John Annick was just as confused as we watched Stephen Nuguen make a long-term beatdown on Mohammad Yahya at UFC Abu Dhabi.
Nguyen set up a UFC record with six knockdowns (although it seemed to have at least one or more than the official number) on his way to the dominant second round knockout, called only at the end of the period due to a doctor’s suspension. Fans and fighters quickly questioned that referee Jason Herzog had not previously intervened to save Yahiya.
To him Annick and Florian The podcast, Annick explained why he is one of many voices criticizing Herzog.
“What are we doing in the form of fighter safety?” Annik said. “Maybe I should call my friend Jason Herzog. I really love him, ‘Hey Jason, that’s John. There’s a lot to unpack here… Jason Herzog was a judge of (Daniel) Zelhoover and (Esteban) Libovik. It was the fight of the year.
“But what is my paper always doing in the form of fighter safety? The edge doesn’t justify the means to be in the event of a fight this year with Rally. Just because Mohammad Yahya doesn’t have an orbital fracture doesn’t mean he’s not going to pay this wholeheartedly.”
The phone call with Felder from UFC Abu Dhabi was with commentators and former UFC fighters Paul Felder and Michael Bisping. The two were fighting a lot of war in their own right, but even they wondered what the limit of the amount of punishment Yahiya was allowed to endure.
“Paul Felder said towards the end of round two, “This fight will continue, right?” Bispin was the first to call for a potential stop for all knockdowns at the two-minute mark of round one in two and a half innings. We believe we have not assessed concussion damage at the moment, but after countless knockdowns.
Unfortunately for Herzog, he is the second time in two weeks, and is the subject of criticism from the MMA community. Because some fighters called him to stop the main event at UFC Nashville too early. Herzog ended the fight in just 35 seconds as Derrick Lewis had abused Tarison Teixeira.
Anik sympathizes with Herzog, who is responsible for two opposite errors.
“If that’s the case, you’ll feel bad, if you don’t, you’re terrible,” Anik said. “They all connect together. We can go back to Chick Congo and Pat Barry. I think Kevin McDonald, the early halt of many of his career as a judge. I’ve said it over and over.
“You’ll get a lot of criticism if you fight too quickly, especially in big environments like main events or title fights.”
As for Yahya’s corner, Anik doesn’t think they should be spared responsibility.
“Load,” Annick said when asked how much responsibility Yahiya’s horn should be. “And it’s probably embarrassing for me that they haven’t admitted their fault in all of this. I don’t know. For the show, I saw it. I don’t know if I’m particularly recoiling now, but it wasn’t good. Not good.
“The number of knockdowns. I don’t think there’s a need for three knockdown rules in MMA, but do you think it’s fair to stop the fight if they get knocked down five times in the MMA round?”