It didn’t take too long for UFC 191’s first controversy to brew.
Veteran Joe Riggs was awarded a disqualification victory over Ron Stallings in the second round of their middleweight fight on the Fight Pass prelims Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Referee Jason Herzog waved off the bout at 2:28 on the advice of the cageside doctor after the downed Stallings landed an upkick to the the head of Riggs, who was on one knee and attempting to move into top position on the ground.
Riggs’ right eye was swollen shut, and when he told the doctor he was unable to see, the fight was called off.
More Coverage: UFC 191 Results | UFC news
However, Riggs’ eye was initially injured in the opening round of what was a back-and-forth fight, when he was on the receiving end of Stallings’ jabs. And the video replay showed that Stallings’ upkick landed on the jaw, not on Riggs’ previously injured eye.
Herzog, however, treated the upkick as the cause of the closed eye, and awarded the fight to Riggs as the result of a foul.
Riggs improved to 41-16 (1 NC) with the victory. It marked his first UFC win since defeating Jason Von Flue at UFC Fight Night 6.