UFC: Dana White questions ref, doctor as Derek Brunson TKOs Edmen Shahbazyan – ‘stop the fight or don’t’

Derek Brunson derailed the hype train surrounding Edmen Shahbazyan in the main event of UFC Vegas 5, handing the 22-year-old his first professional loss with a third-round TKO. But the stoppage probably should have come a bit sooner.

UFC president Dana White vented his frustration in the post-event press conference after a lengthy check on Shahbazyan by the cageside doctor before the final round at the Apex in Las Vegas.

Referee Herb Dean stepped in 26 seconds into the third, but “The Golden Boy” was seemingly knocked out a second or two before the buzzer in the second. Shahbazyan almost fell off his stool and was examined before being allowed to continue, with a big cut above his eye courtesy of Brunson’s devastating ground and pound.

“Shahbazyan looked like he was out at the end of that round,” White said. “I think that the doctor could’ve stopped it. The doctor’s obviously inexperienced, I haven’t seen him before [in the UFC]. You’ve got Brunson who ends that round strong – many would argue it could’ve been stopped right there.

“What you don’t do is talk to the guy for f****** 10 mins while he’s hurt. Either stop the fight or let him continue, but go. You’re letting the kid recover while you’ve got Brunson, who just did that work, who’s waiting for the bell to ring so he can go finish the fight. Pull the trigger one way or the other. Stop the fight or don’t.

Shahbazyan – a protégé of Ronda Rousey under Edmond Tarverdyan – talked before the fight of wanting to crush Jon Jones’ record and become the youngest UFC champ in history. But the No 9 middleweight was given something of a reality check by No 8 Brunson, who can no longer be considered a gatekeeper in the UFC middleweight division.