Johnny Bedford, Cody Gibson & Dana White React To ‘Early’ Fight Night 44 Stoppage
Johnny Bedford hoped to stop his run of bad luck at UFC Fight Night 44 in San Antonio, Texas, but instead ended up being the recipient of a first round TKO loss. The fight, which lasted 39 seconds, started very fast with both men landing huge shots. ‘Brutal’ appeared to have hurt Gibson with shots to the body, before the tables were turned with a big right hand and Bedford got dropped.
Johnny Bedford was once again involved in a controversial finish, but this time on the receiving end. Bedford fought grappler Rani Yahya in Abu Dhabi this past April, and seemed to have got a big knockout win in round after just 39 seconds. The fight was ruled a no-contest and an irate Bedford challenged Yahya to a rematch, which was swiftly booked for Fight Night 44. An injury to Yahya meant that ‘Brutal’ faced Gibson, in a fight that lasted just 38 seconds.
Check out what Bedford had to say to Fox Sports during his post fight interview:
“We were out there striking and I got caught with my hands down. Last time I checked we are allowed to grapple. I was in the guard with my hands up fighting out of the position and the next thing I know the referee is stopping the fight, I was completely aware and intelligently defending myself. This is ridiculous man. Half of these officials have no idea what they’re doing and we’re the ones paying the price. I got robbed two months ago in my fight with Rani Yahya in Abu Dhabi and now I come to my home state and it happens again… unbelievable. I have two kids to feed and this is how we feed our families. Something has to change fast.”
Other recent officiating slips include Ross Pearson’s robbery that was courtesy of the New Mexico judges, and the absolute debacle that went down on The Ultimate Fighter 19. Of course with any seemingly controversial stoppages, there are always those on either side of the fence. Gibson was happy with the stoppage, but also said he would happily rematch Bedford:
“When I looked up I saw him go limp and drop. His eyes rolled back and he was definitely out. He may have started to recover once he hit the canvas but I saw the ref start to wave it off so I hesitated. Then the ref waved it off for good. “
“After his complaints I’m kind of irritated with myself for hesitating. I should’ve just followed up with more shots and really put him out completely,” Gibson said. “I don’t think the UFC is questioning that win but if they are then no problem let’s do it again. I’ll sign on the dotted line immediately.”
UFC president Dana White didn’t seem too happy with the stoppage either, as he posted to Twitter:
I LOVE WHEN REFS RUIN FIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Dana White (@danawhite) June 29, 2014
So what do you think, was Bedford out, or did he in fact get KTFO? Truth be told, it is always going to be razor thin when there is even an ounce of doubt.
