Neil Magny’s huge win over Hector Lombard at UFC Brisbane was marred by referee Steve Perceval’s decision to not stop the fight late in round 2, and UFC executive Tom Wright concurs with the majority that the fight shouldn’t have entered round 3.
In the UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir co-main event in Brisbane, welterweight contender Neil Magny rallied from a pair of knockdowns to become the first man to ever stop Hector Lombard. The wild contest ended early in the 3rd round with Magny in a mounted triangle and pounding away at an exhausted and battered Lombard. For as great as Magny’s 10th win in his last 11 fights was, the fight was marred by the refereeing decisions of Steve Perceval.
After recovering from a 2nd round knockdown, Magny completely dominated Lombard and repeatedly hammered away at his opponent, who was back-mounted, flattened out, and not intelligently defending himself. Despite a prolonged beating, of which the bulk of Magny’s 100 significant ground strikes came at the end of the 2nd, Perceval opted not to stop a clearly hurt Lombard from fighting. Sure enough, Magny sealed the deal in round 3 as mentioned earlier, but most observers agree that it went on for far too long.
The controversial non-stoppage/late stoppage definitely caught the attention of Tom Wright, UFCs Director of Operations for Canada Australia and New Zealand. He expressed concern over Perceval’s decision in the post-fight press conference. (Transcription via MMA Fighting)
“We were a lot concerned,” Wright said. “I think [Magny] said it best. It’s the referee’s job, is to make sure that a fight is stopped, that the athlete can protect himself or herself. I’m sitting not quite as close as the referee was, but I thought that fight should’ve been stopped and it should’ve been stopped a long time before.”
Of course, Perceval wasn’t the only topic of post-fight discussion. Despite a lopsided round 1 for Lombard and a huge round 2 for Magny (despite the knockdown), not a single judge awarded a 10-8 round to either fighter. Scores were unanimously level at 19-19 after two rounds.
Just another day of refereeing (and judging) debate in MMA.