UFC referee slammed for 'disgusting' stoppage as fighter is brutally knocked out
Kerry Hatley's stoppage in the fight between Jalin Turner and Bobby Green has been slammed by a number of big names
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UFC CEO Dana White and ex-champion Michael Bisping laid into referee Kerry Hatley for his "disgusting" stoppage of a fight last night. Hatley took an age to step in as Jalin Turner battered Bobby Green in the opening round.
Turner dropped his rival early in the fight and began to beat him up on the canvas as referee Hatley watched on. Green was ultimately knocked out cold as the official finally intervened to wave off the contest, but he soon faced a barrage of criticism
"That was disgusting, he was face down, he was getting teed off on by a world-class very powerful striker, it was disgusting," said Bisping who was on commentary duties in Austin, Texas. "Kerry Hatley, he’s a great referee but what the hell was he waiting for? It’s as simple as that, people’s lives are at stake, their long-term future.
"That was utterly disgusting and disgraceful, I bet if he were face down on the Octagon with some cracking on his face he’d want it to be stopped sooner” White later added his fuel to the fire when he admitted the stoppage had been one of the worst he could remember.
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"It was one of the worst I’ve ever seen," he said. “The difference is we’ve had some refs say some dumb s*** in the past, like, ‘I allowed her to be a warrior tonight,’ and goofy s*** like that. He knows he made a mistake tonight and does not feel not feel good about it, so it’s unfortunate. Definitely a bad stoppage. Very bad.”
Green, who suffered his first defeat in three fights, took to social media after the fight to say:"You win some, you lose some. I guess I shouldn't show people if you gotta keep it 'G' when you win, you gotta keep it 'G' when you lose.
Jalin Turner knocks Bobby Green out cold with one of the latest stoppages we’ve ever seen.
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) December 3, 2023
HUGE WIN FOR TURNER NONETHELESS. #UFCAustin
pic.twitter.com/dzWxkUKjaW
"Shout out to Jalin. You did your thing, brother. I'm so happy for you. To all my people, another step in the career. There's ups, there's downs.I'm going to keep it going. I ain't going nowhere."
A number of UFC fighters took to social media to hit out at referee Hatley, including Sodiq Yusuff who called for him to be sacked. “Fire that fing ref," he wrote. "That's insane man. I've never been actually mad at a ref before. Someone could die of s like that."
