Shahbazyan looked defeated at the end of the second round, but wound up fighting into the third round and UFC President Dana White believes the doctor should’ve stopped the bout in round two.
“Shahbazyan looked like he was out at the end of that round,” White said at the post-fight news conference (via Dave Doyle & Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie). “I think that the doctor could have stopped … first of all, the doctor’s obviously inexperienced. I don’t know anything about the doctor, but I’ve never seen him before.”
A defeated Shahnbazyan didn’t make it far into round three, as the referee stopped the bout twenty six seconds into the final round.
White also says the extended duration between round two and round three was a disservice to Brunson.
“You’ve got Brunson, who ends that round strong, many could argue that fight could have been stopped there at the end of the round. I’m sure the ref thought that the guy would have time to go back,” White said. “What you don’t do is talk to the guy for (expletive) 10 minutes while he’s hurt. You know what I mean? Either stop the fight or let him continue, but go.”
The loss was the first for Shahbazyan in his professional MMA career, which began in February of 2017.
