Nassourdine Imavov just secured a win over #4 ranked Jared Cannonier at UFC Louisville, but the MMA world isn’t pleased with what appeared to be an early stoppage by referee, Jason Herzog. The fight started with the arena echoing with chants of ‘USA’ as the crowd stood firmly behind Cannonier. With 3 rounds of the fight seeing back-and-forth action, the finish came in the fourth as Imavov caught ‘Tha Killa Gorilla’ with a hard right hook that put him on wobbly legs.

Cannonier was still up and attempted to regain his bearings as Imavov tried to pour on the pressure to secure the finish. But referee Jason Herzog stepped in and stopped the fight, despite Cannonier still being on his feet and covering up, or in other words, ‘intelligently defending himself.’ The crowd erupted with a chorus of boos at the early stoppage, but nevertheless, the #7-ranked Imavov has now cemented his place among the top five of the middleweight division.

In his post-fight interview, Imavov made a call-out of Sean Strickland, the former 185 lbs champion, as he made it clear he wants to rematch ‘Tarzan’ next in September when the UFC makes its way to France. Strickland had outclassed Imavov in their January 2023 meeting. This win secured the Frenchman a spot on the top-five berth and should be good enough to earn him a shot at the #1 ranked middleweight.

However, the win has been marred by the controversial stoppage and the MMA community reacted online to highlight their displeasure at the referee’s actions and the consequences of this loss on Cannonier’s future in the division. Here’s a look at what they had to say!

Fans and fighters slam Jason Herzog’s controversial stoppage in UFC Louisville main event

Many members of the MMA community indicated that they felt the stoppage wasn’t warranted and were against the referee’s decision

UFC fighter Terrance McKinney lauded Cannonier for his restraint and behavior in a loss that could have been avoided if the referee didn’t choose to halt the fight.

According to Aaron Bronsteter, ‘Tha Killa Gorilla’ was leading the fight on 2 of the judges’ scorecards before the controversial ending.

Another important factor in the stoppage was Cannonier’s age as one fan pointed out that the 40-year-old may not get many opportunities after this stoppage to make his way to a middleweight championship bout.

Other fans were more understanding of the situation as they pointed out that referee Jason Herzog is usually an excellent referee but this stoppage cast a shadow over a great card till then.

However, a contrasting opinion was also shared by one fan who pointed out that Cannonier’s body language before the stoppage wasn’t looking good as such the referee can’t be blamed for trying to protect the fighter.

But some members of the MMA fandom re-iterated the fact that Cannonier was definitely rocked, but he was trying to rally back by throwing counters at Imavov before Jason Herzog decided to step in and halt the fight.

With his win now secured and a call-out of Sean Strickland made, it remains to be seen if Imavov will be able to avenge his loss against ‘Tarzan’ and insert himself into the middleweight title picture. What are your thoughts on the stoppage? Was it early or should Cannonier have been given a chance to continue fighting? Let us know in the comments below!