Jack Della Maddalena went to war against Gilbert Burns and came up victorious at UFC 299. The fight went up to its third and final round and that was when perhaps one of Burns’ takedown attempts backfired on him leading to a vicious knockout from Maddalena.

However, was the stoppage a bit too late? Spectators online suggested that Burns was pretty much out of it the moment he ate the finishing blow. Yet, the referee let it go too far. Is that so? Here’s how things unfolded in the third round.

Gilbert Burns managed to take Maddalena down early in the third round but he managed to get back to his feet. Now, when Burns went for another attempt, Maddalena perfectly timed a knee to his face dropping him on the mat. Fans were convinced that that’s when Burns was out of it and the match should have been stopped.

And many make the point based on the condition ‘Durinho’ was left in after the knockout. It almost looked like he’d lost consciousness there for a minute and had to take his time to breathe it all in. Once he was down on the mat, medical attention was quickly called for.

Maddalena took time out of his celebration to ensure that his opponent was alright. The two shook hands and called it even and after it was over, Burns laid down on the mat to recover from the blows. Clearly, it was a brutal finish. So how did fans react? It wasn’t kind for ref Dan Mirgliotta.

Fans consider Gilbert Burns’ knockout an overkill

UFC fans are some of the most experienced and observant fans of any sport. The fandom came together as they witnessed Gilbert Burns go down in flames but many believed that Mirgliotta should have come in sooner. Here are some of their takes.

However, that did not happen and Maddalena had to follow up with a few elbows. Was the ref too late?

This fan was no happy with ref Dan Mirgliotta.

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Did he give Maddalena too much time?

Some fans weren’t happy to see Burns in such a condition.

Were the shots illegal?

The stoppage had this fan screaming.

Did you also think that the stoppage was late? Mirgliotta is a referee with a lot of experience with the sport and the promotion itself. Perhaps his call was right on the money, perhaps it was too late. Which side of this rift do you find yourself on? Let us know in the comments.

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