Jon Anik, a lead UFC commentator, called out referee Jason Herzog for not stopping a brutal fight at UFC Abu Dhabi sooner. Steven Nguyen knocked down Mohammad Yahya six times, leaving Yahya with a swollen eye. Anik questioned fighter safety, saying the fight went too long. He also blamed Yahya’s corner for not ending it earlier.
Mohammad Yahya was knocked down multiple times in the first round and is staying in the fight 😳 #UFCAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/Jnitbp0Fpi
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 26, 2025
Nguyen’s Record-Setting Beatdown
On July 26, 2025, at UFC on ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi, Nguyen faced Yahya in a featherweight prelim bout. Nguyen landed six knockdowns, setting a UFC record. Yahya’s left eye swelled shut, forcing a doctor’s stoppage at the end of round two.
“What are we doing in the form of fighter safety?” Anik said on Monday’s episode of The Anik & Florian Podcast. “Maybe I should call my friend Jason Herzog, who I really do love and be like, ‘Hey Jason, it’s Jon. Do me a favor and just stop the fight?’ There’s a lot to unpack here.”
Anik noted Herzog’s past, referencing the 2024 Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics fight, ranked by Tapology as the year’s best lightweight bout.
“Jason Herzog was the referee for Zellhuber and Ribovics, and if you hear nothing else I say today – I don’t know if I was suggestive on the broadcast that fight should’ve been stopped at one point in time, but I thought Zellhuber should’ve been saved to live to fight another day,” Anik said. “The result was Herzog masterfully let the fight play out and the result was the Fight of the Year. But my thesis statement always is, ‘What are doing in the form of fighter safety.’ The ends don’t justify the means.”
During the bout, commentators Paul Felder and Michael Bisping also questioned the fight’s continuation.
“Paul Felder said toward the end of Round 2, ‘This fight is not going to continue, right? Because a physician is going to get involved here,’” Anik said. “Bisping first called for a potential stoppage because of all the knockdowns at the two-and-a-half minute mark of Round 1.” Anik suggested a possible knockdown rule. “I do believe, because we’re not assessing concussive damage live in the moment, but after a myriad of knockdowns, I’m not saying there should be a knockdown rule in mixed martial arts, but it does exist for a reason. After six or even of these f*cking things we can stop the fight,” he said.
Yahya avoided fractures, but Anik worried about long-term damage.
“Just because Mohammad Yahya doesn’t have an orbital fracture doesn’t mean that heretofore it doesn’t mean he’s going to pay dearly for this,” Anik said. He also pointed to Yahya’s corner. “Plenty (of blame on the corner),” Anik said. “And it’s probably shame on me for not acknowledging their culpability in all of this. I don’t know. I watched it and I don’t know if I’m being particularly reactionary, but it was not good.”
Nguyen, a 31-year-old from California, has a 10-2 MMA record, with 1-1 in the UFC. He earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023 but lost his debut to Jarno Errens in 2024. His win over Yahya marked his first UFC victory, earning a Performance of the Night bonus. Yahya, a 30-year-old from the UAE, has a 12-6 MMA record, with 0-3 in the UFC. A former UAE Warriors lightweight champion, he lost his UFC debut to Errens in 2024.
Jason Herzog, a veteran MMA referee, is often praised but has faced scrutiny before. In 2024, he was criticized for stopping the UFC Nashville main event between Nassourdine Imavov and Jared Cannonier too early, prompting Herzog to tweet he’d reevaluate. At UFC Abu Dhabi, even Nguyen felt the fight could have ended sooner.
“There was one where I hit him, and his leg bent backward,” Nguyen said. “I put my hands up thinking it was a walk-off KO, but Jason didn’t stop it.”
UFC executive Dave Shaw defended Herzog, saying Yahya showed moments of recovery. Shaw ruled out a three-knockdown rule, citing the fight’s entertainment value. Ariel Helwani called Herzog’s refereeing “awful,” while fans on X demanded Herzog be fired, though Nguyen supported him, saying Yahya stayed conscious. Yahya faces a recovery period, while Nguyen aims for another UFC fight.
