Tommy McMillen won the biggest fight of his young UFC career on Saturday night, but most of the post-fight conversation had little to do with his record-breaking performance.
The unbeaten featherweight prospect rose to 11-0 after knocking out Alberto Montes in the third round at UFC Oklahoma City, finishing off a wild three-round clash that kept fans on the edge of their seats. However, rather than praising McMillen’s unrelenting offence, many were left wondering why referee Nick Berens allowed the fight to continue for so long.
The action was frantic from the opening bell. Sean O’Malley‘s teammate repeatedly hurt Alberto Montes with hard combinations before getting dropped himself during an action-packed opening round. While the pace naturally dropped in the second, ‘Gun’ kept putting on the pressure, walking his opponent down and landing at an incredible rate. So, it was no surprise that by the third round, it appeared that the writing was already on the wall.
Tommy McMillen madly chased the finish as ‘The Promise’ took a barrage of unanswered punches. Even UFC announcers Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier began to urge Nick Berens to intervene, becoming increasingly concerned as the punishment continued. It took almost another 30 seconds for the referee to finally step in and call the bout off.
The stoppage capped off Tommy McMillen’s statistical masterpiece. In 13 minutes and 29 seconds inside the Octagon, ‘Gun’ landed an unbelievable 502 strikes, 500 of which were classified as significant attempts by UFC Stats. He landed 248 significant strikes, the most ever recorded in a three-round UFC fight.
So, it was no surprise that McMillen was also full of confidence after securing the biggest victory of his career.
“I’m a real American gangster, mother f——,” McMillen said during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “Uncle Dana (White), Hunter (Campbell), send me a mother f—— Mexican on Sept. 12 in Arizona (for Noche UFC). I’m coming home.”
But while Tommy McMillen left Oklahoma City with an undefeated record and a place in UFC history, referee Nick Berens found himself at the centre of widespread criticism online.
Fans demand action after Nick Berens’ controversial officiating at UFC Oklahoma City
The most common complaint centred on the late stoppage, with many fans claiming Alberto Montes had suffered needless damage before the bout was called off.
One fan demanded Berens never officiate another UFC bout, tweeting, “Disgusting from the ref. Throw his licence away forever.” One viewer couldn’t believe how long Berens allowed the beating to continue, writing, “We might not see Herb Dean much tonight, but we have this bald bozo to deal with. He let Montes take WAY too much damage.”
Another echoed the same frustration, adding, “That was one of the worst stoppages we’ve seen in a while. What the hell more did the ref need to see?” Some reactions were even more brutal, as a user accused the official of putting Montes’ safety at risk, writing, “Ref was trying to get Montes killed there.”
The criticism didn’t stop with the late stoppage. One user did not shy away from some name-calling: “That ref is a fkn dummy. Wasn’t even aware of the after-round extracurricular activity.”
Another felt the referee and commission endured a poor night overall, writing, “Alberto Montes needs a finish; Tommy McMillen is putting it on him bad! The ref lets them talk after the round, not a good overall performance by the commission here.”
A third fan also pointed to an earlier sequence, writing, “The ref didn’t do s— about an eye poke, leading to a fighter getting rocked while protesting, possibly changing the outcome of the fight. F—— hell.”
However, not everyone believed Nick Berens deserved all the blame. One fan argued Alberto Montes’ own corner should have stepped in long before the referee did, writing, “Montes’ corner should’ve thrown the towel. He had nothing for McMillen halfway through that fight. Unnecessary beating.”
The backlash comes at a time when officiating has become one of the most heated talking points in MMA. Following UFC White House, Alex Pereira criticised Herb Dean for his interim heavyweight title loss to Ciryl Gane, saying illegal strikes to the back of the head were overlooked during the finishing sequence.
Not long after, at UFC Baku, Dean faced criticism again after Shara Magomedov repeatedly fouled Michel Pereira, including hair pulls and an eye poke, without receiving a point deduction, a decision that many claimed influenced the outcome of the fight. However, till now, no proper action has been taken against the veteran referee by the promotion.
The UFC has shown in the past that it is willing to move on from referees following controversial performances. Vyacheslav Kiselev never officiated another UFC event following his heavily criticised handling of Benoît Saint-Denis vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC 267, in which he allowed Saint-Denis to take some significant damage before finally stopping the fight.
It’s unclear whether Nick Berens will suffer similar consequences. However, based on the overwhelming response online, many fans believe his performance at UFC Oklahoma City needs severe scrutiny.
