Delphine Benouaich didn’t just ease her way into the UFC; she kicked the door off the hinges. The TUF 34 strawweight semifinalist made her promotional debut at UFC Paris and absolutely dominated Sofia Montenegro, leaving her unconscious after a savage second-round barrage. And as expected, fans had plenty to say afterward, especially about why referee Mourad Benseghir allowed the punishment to go on for as long as it did.

“WELCOME TO THE UFC 😤,” the UFC wrote on X as they uploaded the video of the submission win. “Delphine Benouaich leaves her mark and puts the strawweight division on notice!”

The 31-year-old had Montenegro in deep trouble after a nasty right hand dropped her, and the Frenchwoman wasted absolutely no time piling on with ground-and-pound. She might’ve been the smaller fighter, but you’d never know it from the way she fought.

Benouaich refused to take a backward step, constantly moving forward and throwing everything she had onto her opponent. While Sofia Montenegro fired back with some heavy combinations of her own.

The two kept trading in the clinch, with neither woman willing to give an inch. Delphine Benouaich was taking damage too and was already bleeding from the nose, but she kept coming forward. Eventually, all that pressure paid off. A clean right hand landed flush and sent ‘La Bruja’ crashing to the canvas.

She immediately followed Montenegro down and started unloading with ground-and-pound, then worked her way into the mount, and punches and elbows came raining down as the Argentinian desperately tried to survive and find a way out.

It didn’t take long for the damage to become impossible to ignore. Blood was pouring from Sofia Montenegro’s face as she struggled underneath Benouaich, who just kept pouring on the punishment. The referee allowed the assault to continue until the French national eventually transitioned to a rear-naked choke.

Montenegro didn’t tap and instead went unconscious, forcing referee Mourad Benseghir to step in and end the contest. And just like that, it was over. Delphine Benouaich got the official win by technical submission via rear-naked choke at 4:22 of the second round, capping off a seriously brutal debut at UFC Paris.

The victory also marked the second submission win of her 8-2 professional MMA career. Her first came last year at Ares FC 36: Jbalia vs. Sabira, where she submitted Lindsey Payne with a guillotine choke in the opening round.

Speaking after the fight, Benouaich showed plenty of respect for the opponent who had pushed her through a chaotic debut.

“I expected nothing but a hard fight, and this is what she gave me. Shoutout to her,” the French fighter said.

After the sheer amount of damage Delphine Benouaich dished out before locking in the choke, it’s going to be pretty damn hard for anyone else on the card to steal the spotlight when the Performance of the Night bonuses are handed out. But while the 31-year-old’s UFC debut had fans buzzing, there was another side to the finish that quickly took over the conversation.

Fans slam referee Mourad Benseghir after Delphine Benouaich’s bloody UFC Paris debut

A lot of fans weren’t celebrating at all after witnessing the win at UFC Paris. They were left wondering how Sofia Montenegro was allowed to absorb that much punishment before the referee finally stepped in.

“Looked like a crime scene,” one fan wrote.

Much of the criticism was directed at Mourad Benseghir, with viewers arguing that the fight should have been stopped before Montenegro was forced to endure the additional punishment from mount.

“I think the referee should have saved Sofia earlier. That fight should have been stopped when Delphine was raining down those elbows and split her open from mount,” one fan argued.

“There was no need for the girl to go to sleep,” another added.

Others believed the referee should have called the fight immediately after the knockdown.

“That ref needs a rewatch; the fight was over at the knockdown,” a fan wrote. “The referee is a disaster!!” another added. “That referee stuff is really stupid, bro,” a third chimed in.

One pointed to the damage Montenegro had already suffered and questioned the decision to allow the fight to continue: “It was clear that she was done. Let her live to see the next fight sooner rather than later. 2 major cuts that won’t heal quickly.”

The graphic nature of the finish immediately sparked a wave of criticism online, with some fans comparing Sofia Montenegro’s battered face to something out of a horror movie.

“Thought i just saw a dead body,” one fan wrote.

“Now those are some nasty cuts!!!” another reacted.

Delphine Benouaich got the finish she came for and put together one amazing UFC debut. However, with Sofia Montenegro unconscious and covered in blood at the end of the fight, with some cuts that will surely be hard to forget for many fight fans, the referee’s choice to allow the ground-and-pound will be a major topic of discussion.

After all, several UFC fights these days have been under some serious fan scrutiny, especially since the Herb Dean and Alex Pereira saga at UFC White House in June.

In fact, it even led UFC referee Keith Peterson to issue a recent message to fellow referees.

But for now, it was a spectacular introduction to the UFC for the 31-year-old. As for Sofia Montenegro, it was a brutal night that left many fans wondering if the fight should have been stopped sooner. And one she would surely like to forget as she continues her journey in the biggest MMA promotion in the world.