4. That Ankalaev vs. Cutelaba stoppage
Kevin MacDonald screwed the pooch with his stoppage in the [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) vs. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) fight as badly as any referee in recent memory. It was not good.
Although Ankalaev was definitely pouring on the offense in the opening seconds of the contest, Cutelaba was far from being in a position where a stoppage of that nature was warranted. Maybe he would’ve been hurt worse, or maybe (as he claimed post-fight) he would’ve altered the momentum of the bout and picked up the win.
Unfortunately, MacDonald robbed both fighters and viewers of knowing with certainty due to his poor decision-making in the moment. All referees have gaffs, but this one was particularly bad, and it would nice to see him take ownership of the mistake in a public capacity. But we all know that ain’t happening.
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