The first UFC event of 2025 did not disappoint as UFC Vegas 101 delivered some enthralling action. Middleweight contenders Roman Kopylov and Chris Curtis engaged in a war that left them both a bit bloodied. However, the fight recorded some controversy during the last round that marred the overall quality of the fight. With only 10 seconds left, Kopylov landed a head kick on ‘Action Man’, which led the referee, Mark Smith, to end the fight, handing the Russian a TKO win.

As expected, Chris Curtis expressed his fury at this decision by the referee, yelling at him, “Are you f***ing serious?”. ‘Action Man’ kept seated looking at Mark Smith with disbelief as he claimed that he was going to stand up on his feet before he called for the fight to stop. However, Roman Kopylov claims that the referee did the right thing.

The Russian national claims that his impactful blow to the head left no doubts in Mark Smith’s mind that the fight was a wrap.

“I think everything was fair with the stoppage. The referee did his job. The kick was enough, he fell to the canvas and there was no reason to follow up,” Roman Kopylov stated during his post-fight interview.

Well, the 33-year-old may believe that the referee did the right thing, as he made it two wins on the trot at UFC Vegas 101, but veteran fighter and commentator Paul Felder has sided with Chris Curtis on this one. Let’s see what he had to say.

Chris Curtis vs Roman Kopylov should have gone on till the buzzer, claims Paul Felder

The two middleweights put on a classic at the Apex with both fighters visibly hurt and Roman Kopylov was even left in a crimson mask. However, Paul Felder, on ESPN’s Post Show, expressed his dissatisfaction with Mark Smith’s decision as he claimed that the ‘Fight of the Night’ bout should not have ended abruptly, especially because the fight was about to end in just one second.

“Roman Kopylov was probably going to take that third round, but in a battle like that, in a ‘Fight of the Night’ situation, I love Mark Smith… but that fight should not have been stopped,” Paul Felder stated. “Chris Curtis was with it. Yes, was he hurt? There’s a second on the clock and Kopylov is nowhere near him. I do feel for him. I wish he would have been able to at least stand and have the decision read as opposed to being a TKO.”

It now depends on Dana White to take care of this situation because such instances aren’t rare in a UFC fight. While there are discussions about poor judging, there have been too many instances where officiating has been the talk of the town on several occasions. Fans may not have expected this to happen in the first UFC event of 2025, so it remains to be seen if the first PPV of the hearing, UFC 311, finds itself in some controversies as well. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.