After being defeated by a third round TKO last night at UFC 178 a furious Tim Kennedy confronted Yoel Romero backstage claiming that he should be disqualified for failing to answer the bell in the final round of the bout.
Kennedy has a strong case. In the final seconds of the second round he badly hurt Romero with uppercuts followed by more punches to the head that left his opponent essentially out on his feet as the bell sounded.
Then came the controversial moment as Romero’s corner seemed to stall for time after the minute break, “forgetting” to take the stool out of the Octagon as they slowly walked out. An exhausted Romero stayed sitting as referee John McCarthy came over and told them to remove the stool while also requesting that they take vaseline from Romero’s face and wipe down the excess water from his body.
Throughout this process Romero stayed seated and Kennedy came over to McCarthy to protest at the delay, with the referee eventually managing to hustle everyone out of the cage and get ‘The Soldier Of God’ back on his feet.
The whole sequence lasted at least about 15-20 seconds and gave Romero valuable extra time to regain his senses which he would then use to turn the tables on Kennedy, rocking him with a punch in the opening minute of the third round and then finishing him soon after by TKO.
It was a remarkable comeback, but very controversial and Kennedy was caught on tape backstage giving Romero a piece of his mind over the incident.
“What the f*ck!” Kennedy is heard saying to his opponent. “If you can’t get off the stool, that’s the end of the fight!”
Kennedy also confirmed after the fight that he intends to appeal the decision and on Twitter posted up the ruling that he believes backs up his claim that the bout should never have gone to a third round.
“NAC 467.728 If a combatant fails or refuses to resume competing when the bell sounds…the referee shall award a decision of TKO,” Kennedy wrote.
