Jon Anik thinks referee Jason Herzog saved Jared Cannonier from taking pointless further injury at UFC on ESPN 57.
Nassourdine Imavov (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) scored a fourth-round TKO of Cannonier (17-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) in Saturday’s headliner at KFC Yum! Middle in Louisville, Ky. – a controversial stoppage which infuriated Cannonier.
Imavov had Cannonier on skates when he tagged him with a proper hook. Imavov sprinted after Cannonier, who ultimately tried to swing again whereas backed up towards the cage. Nevertheless, with Cannonier off stability and stumbling throughout the octagon, Herzog noticed sufficient and waved the struggle off on the 1:34 mark of Spherical 4.
Whereas Anik agrees that the stoppage was untimely, he thinks Cannonier was en path to getting put out.
“In the event you have been to ask me, ‘Do you consider in 20 seconds that Jared Cannonier would’ve been knocked out chilly or concussed additional?,’ the reply could be sure,” Anik stated on his Anik & Florian podcast. “I consider referees are universally praised after they permit a struggle to go lengthy, after which one thing sensational occurs. Both we get a 25-minute struggle as a result of they didn’t cease the struggle, otherwise you get a knockout that has some virality.
“I used to be slightly bit stunned to see Jason Herzog intervene right here, however referees are all the time going to be criticized after they cease fights early on the entrance finish of the doubtless concussive injury. … Jason, if any referee deserves the good thing about the doubt, it’s him. In the event you’re asking me, do I believe the stoppage was untimely, I do, however I believe the end result would’ve been a concussion for Jared Cannonier, who had been drunk driving 30 seconds beforehand, and I simply really feel like he would’ve been knocked out.”
Herzog acknowledged the criticism, and indicated he deliberate to reassess the fight-ending sequence.
“I get it. I do know what I used to be seeing within the second, however I’ve gotten sufficient suggestions telling me I must reevaluate, so I’ll,” Herzog wrote on X after the struggle.
I get it. I do know what I used to be seeing within the second, however I’ve gotten sufficient suggestions telling me I must reevaluate, so I’ll. https://t.co/YwbIg9Mbdh
— Jason Herzog (@JasonHerzogMMA) June 9, 2024
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