UFC Austin turned out to be one of the best cards of 2023. The event featured multiple finishes, including two very rare slam KOs. However, one disturbing scene from the show had the MMA community screaming in anger. Furthermore, Daniel Cormier was shaken by the reaction of a young girl because of that nightmarish scene.
UFC legend, Daniel Cormier uploaded a video sharing his reactions to the UFC Austin event on YouTube. He talked about the disturbing late stoppage by referee Kerry Hatley in the co-main event between Jalin Turner and Bobby Green. “I thought it was the worst stoppage in UFC history,” said DC.
Furthermore, he talked about the reaction of a young teenage girl to this horrendous stoppage. “I saw a little girl next to the octagon turn away…Because she can’t watch what’s going on in the octagon, that’s how bad it was,” said Cormier.
While Daniel Cormier forgot the name of Hatley, he was firing direct shots at his super late stoppage since Bobby was already out cold. “I don’t know who the ref was in the fight…He made a bad mistake and it was terrible,” said the MMA legend.
My instant reaction from octagonside is live 11am eastern/8am pacific time make sure you check it out. DC https://t.co/ICGGiOGwmr pic.twitter.com/GaemnHlAFG
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) December 3, 2023
UFC referee Kerry Hatley has yet to speak on the situation. However, Dana White was quick to talk about the gruesome stoppage during the post-fight press conference.
Dana White reacts to the controversial Bobby Green stoppage
During the UFC Austin post-fight press conference, Dana White was asked about the now-infamous Bobby Green stoppage. The UFC CEO was quick and precise with his response to the reporter. “One of the worst I’ve ever seen,” said White regarding the bad stoppage.
However, in a crazy turn of events, White appeared to be sympathetic towards Hatley while he fired shots at Mario Yamasaki. “The difference is we’ve had some refs say some dumb sh*t in the past, like, ‘I allowed her to be a warrior tonight’ and goofy sh*t like that,” said Dana. Furthermore, he claimed that Kerry Hatley knows he made a mistake, unlike Yamasaki.
Dana White calls the Bobby Green stoppage at #UFCAustin “one of the worst I’ve ever seen,” but says referee Kerry Hatley expressed remorse. pic.twitter.com/EKXdf7SXJD
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 3, 2023
He was referring to Mario Yamasaki’s controversial refereeing during the Valentina Shevchenko vs. Priscila Cachoeira fight. After the fight, Mario defended himself for the stoppage instead of accepting his mistake. Furthermore, that was his last assignment with the UFC since Dana fired Yamazaki during the post-fight press conference.
Dana White concluded that discussion by saying it was “definitely a bad stoppage”. However, it does not look like he has any plans to fire Kerry Hatley over this incident. Thankfully, Bobby Green appears to be fine, as he recently posted a video on Instagram talking about the fight. What do you think of Hatley’s late stoppage? Let us know in the comments section.