Low blow or legal kick? UFC Paris fight ending sparks controversy

William Gomis’ win over Yanis Ghemmouri at UFC Paris had an utterly bizarre ending that sparked controversy from the MMA community.

PARIS – [autotag]William Gomis[/autotag] got his first UFC finish, but it didn’t come without controversy.

After two rounds of a technical kickboxing-like match in their featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 226 on Saturday at Accor Arena, Gomis (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) landed a body kick on [autotag]Yanis Ghemmouri[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in Round 3.

Ghemmouri, who was visibly in pain, reacted as though it landed low, but the referee deemed it a legal body kick. When Ghemmouri turned around and didn’t continue fighting, the referee waived the fight off for a TKO win for Gomis at the 2:20 mark of Round 3.

Check out the replay of Gomis’ finish below, which drew boos from the crowd (via Twitter):

The referee’s decision turned out to be pretty controversial among those in the MMA community, who aired grievances on social media in the minutes that followed.