Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephen earned his third consecutive win with a second-round knockout win over Josh Emmett in the main event of UFC on FOX 28. But his main event win wasn’t without controversy.
Jeremy Stephens dropped his opponent to the mat with a left hand in the second round and then unleashed a barrage of ground strikes including elbows that looked like they landed to the back of Emmett’s head, which is illegal. ‘ Lil Heathen’ also seemed to land a knee to Emmett’s temple as he was turtled on the mat, which is also a foul. Referee Dan Miragliotta, however, did not signal any foul.
Check out the Twitter reaction below:
I would file for a no contest lowkey. That knee grazed the top of the head, looked illegal af. Jeremy do hit hard but josh was looking good
— Kevin Lee MTP (@MoTownPhenom) February 25, 2018
So knees to downed opponent are legal now? Was there a fuckin rules change?
— Andre Fili (@TouchyFili) February 25, 2018
Jeremy Stephens still has that serious power, regardless of where his strikes land. If the ref lets it go, ref lets it go. #ufcorlando
— The Mane Event™ (@EliasTheodorou) February 25, 2018
Elbows were fine!! Emmett turned the back of his head into the elbows while Stevens was going for the finish…not much a man can do about that #UFCOrlando
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) February 25, 2018
Elbows were legit and the knee missed. 🤷♂️
— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) February 25, 2018
That knee was illegal AF!! But that drop and that finishing instinct was WILD and BRUTAL! 145 is STACKED!! #UFCOrlando
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) February 25, 2018
Looked like a grounded opponent to me. #ufcorlando
— Scott “Hot Sauce” Holtzman (@HotSauceHoltzy) February 25, 2018
Former Middleweight champion Michael Bisping and Dominick Cruz continued arguing with Daniel Cormier about the legality of the knee.
Did Jeremy Stephens strike Josh Emmett with an illegal knee? @dc_mma @dominickcruz and @bisping intensely debate the details of the main event! #UFCOrlando https://t.co/cQxX5So9bb
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 25, 2018
Team Alpha Male coach Urijah Faber gave his opinion on his team’s defeat right after the fight was done:
“Dominick Cruz and Michael Bisping are f*cking blind. That was a knee to the back of the head. An illegal knee to the illegal back of the head. Give me a friggin’ break. Congratulations to Stephens. He fought a good one.”
What do you think of this illegal knee saga?
