UFC 210 video recap: Gegard Mousasi controversially finishes Chris Weidman

Check out BloodyElbow.com’s video recap of the UFC 210 co-main event between Gegard Mousasi and Chris Weidman.

If I’ve ever seen a fiasco in mixed martial arts, the absurd ending of Gegard Mousasi vs. Chris Weidman was it.

In the co-main event of UFC 210, which took place live from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., surging contender Mousasi met former champion Weidman in a very pivotal middleweight matchup. Mousasi, who was slightly favored to defeat the New York native, came out on top, but the bout certainly did not end how anyone expected it to.

In the opening round, Weidman scored multiple takedowns on an off-looking Mousasi, who wasn’t as precise standing up as usual. In fact, he got tagged once or twice by Weidman. To Mousasi’s credit, however, he defended quite well on the mat and got back to his feet rather quickly.

The Dutch fighter had more success and turned things up in the second round. He started landing more power shots, and mid-way through the second round, he landed two knees to a dazed Weidman. Referee Dan Miragliotta separated the two fighters, because he thought the knees (or at least one of them) were illegal, but replays showed that Weidman only had one hand down, making both knees legal shots. The cage-side doctor was inside the Octagon, and Miragliotta and Marc Ratner both eventually confirmed the shots were legal. Despite the New York State Athletic Commission not having instant replay, the bout was called off after a long period of confusion and declared a TKO victory for Mousasi.

What was the highlight of the fight?

As much as I hate to do this, I guess I have to say the highlight of the fight was the controversial ending and eventual TKO win for Mousasi. Neither fighter did anything wrong, which makes it disappointing; though Weidman was certainly in trouble, an escape would not have been realistic. At the end of the day, the referee made a mistake.

That said, the ending enraged UFC commentator Joe Rogan, made Twitter go nuts, and was one of the most bizarre endings to a fight in recent memory. So it’s the highlight of the fight.

Where do these two go from here?

Mousasi fought out his contract on Saturday and is now a free agent, though the UFC has an exclusive negotiation period. If he re-signs with the UFC, he’s in the title mix, but the top of the 185-pound division is very foggy right now with champ Michael Bisping fighting Georges St-Pierre sometime this year. So Mousasi is still pretty far away from a crack at the belt; therefore, I think a rematch with Weidman makes the most sense so the fighters can compete without any controversy (hopefully) — Mousasi even said in his post-fight interview he’s willing to give Weidman a rematch. Again, that’s only if he doesn’t jump ship to Bellator MMA or another organization like several fighters have done over the past year.

Watch now, later, or never?

Though it came to a sudden and premature halt, Mousasi vs. Weidman was fun while it lasted. Watch it right away.