Israel Adesanya entered the octagon to defend his belt against an old foe at UFC 281. He faced Alex Pereira, to whom he had lost twice in kickboxing bouts already. The fight was expected to be spectacular, and Adesanya seemed to have grabbed it by the scuff of its neck. However, a sudden change in tides in the final round saw him lose the fight with a TKO. The fight was officiated by Marc Goddard.
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Israel Adesanya believed that if Goddard might have let the fight, go for a few more moments, he could have regained his composure and won the bout. Hence, he wanted Steve Mazzagatti to be brought back to the UFC.
Originally, before the fight, Adesanya wanted Steve to lead the fight, as he is known for making fights last longer than they should. He wanted to punish ‘Poatan‘ for as long as he could before the ref stopped the fight.
When asked if he felt the referee stopped the fight prematurely. He said, ” My ego would say at least let me go out of my shield. But I don’t think I would have gone out because I was still there.”
He further added, “I’ve seen worse stoppages. Fuc*ing bring back Steve Mazzagati.” If the fight had not stopped there, he believes that Alex would have gone on to win the round, but he would have won the fight.
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Adesanya, before the match on his YouTube channel, said, ” Dana, bring back Steve Mazzagatti. Bring back Steve Mazzagatti to ref my fight because I want to hear ‘fight back’ as I’m punching him in the face like 50 times.”
Israel Adesanya requested Steve Mazzagatti: The ‘Incompetent fool’
Notoriously known for letting fights go on for longer than they should be, Steve is a former UFC referee. No referee has faced more criticism in UFC than him. This led to Dana White calling him an ‘incompetent fool‘.
Along with White, even the WWE superstar and former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar had criticized his refereeing capabilities.
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LAS VEGAS – JULY 03: Brock Lesnar reacts after his second round submission victory against Shane Carwin to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship Unification bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 3, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
In light of Adesanya’s comments, do you think if the fight was not stopped so early, the outcome would have changed? Let us know in the comments.
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