Matt Serra Thinks UFC 245 Main Event Was Stopped Early
UFC 245 was headlined by UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and his challenger in Colby Covington. Fans and fighters alike were very interested in the heavily promoted bout. Partially because of the antics Covington conveyed throughout the lead-up. Following, Usman TKO’d Colby and sent him running out of the T-Mobile area, the MMA community took to social media to react to the stoppage. UFC Hall of Famer Matt Serra weighed in on the stoppage, saying that the fight ended prematurely.
The fight was filled with emotion. And, both men landed plus exchanged, with Usman seeming to get the better of Colby each time. Ultimately, Usman broke Colby’s jaw in the third round, forcing him to fight under unfortunate circumstances. Usman was able to secure the victory in the very last round via TKO after sitting Colby down with punches multiple times. Lastly, Colby covered himself in turtle position as Usman pummeled on him until the referee called the match off.
Serra Explains the Stoppage
The ending of the match caused quite a stir. Especially because some fans felt like the stoppage was premature. Others felt like since Colby was dropped multiple times, it created the illusion that would make the referee end things before permanent damage was done. For Matt Serra, he explained on his “Unfiltered” podcast that the stoppage may have been early. Furthermore, he made it clear that no matter what, he thinks Usman would have won regardless.
“I felt that (the stoppage) was definitely a little premature. F*ck, the guy’s(Covington) fighting almost 10 minutes with a broken jaw. He went down, he’s moving his head, he’s covering up. Why? He gets up, (and the) first thing he says is, ‘what are you doing?’ And listen I really feel weird being the guy to go to bat for Colby cause I don’t like the guy,” said Serra.
Assessing the Stoppage
Although he believed the fight ended early, he also believes that Usman would have won the decision. However, Serra’s point is that with such high stakes on the line like the UFC welterweight title, Covington should have been able to risk it all.
Do fans agree with Serra’s assessment of the fight? Let us know in the comment section.
