UFC Louisville main event referee, Jason Herzog, has spoken out after becoming the centre of controversy surrounding the ending of Jared Cannonier vs Nassourdine Imavov.
It is not common for MMA fans to be critical of Herzog in unison. However, that is exactly what has happened due to the ending of the UFC main event this past Saturday.
During the fourth round of the fight, Imavov was able to hurt his opponent. Cannonier was wobbled, but he was still fighting back. The American threw some strikes together and even tried to grapple with Imavov. Cannonier seemingly remained in the fight and was coming back. Nevertheless, Herzog had other ideas and decided he had seen enough. He waved the fight off to give Imavov the stoppage victory.
Jason Herzog Responds to Criticism Following Jared Cannonier vs Nassourdine Imavov Stoppage
After the fight, Jason Herzog has since taken to X to respond to those who have criticised him.
“I get it. I know what I was seeing in the moment, but I’ve gotten enough feedback telling me I need to re-evaluate, so I will,” Jason Herzog wrote X.
This loss could be career-defining for Cannonier. Being 40 years old, he will know that the clock is ticking to secure the middleweight title. Since his most recent shot at the belt, back in 2022 against Israel Adesanya, “The Killa Gorilla” has gone 2-0 inside the UFC octagon, including victories against Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland.
It will be interesting to see what is next for Cannonier: if he decides to keep going or calls time on his career. If he sticks around, he will want to face a big name that would get him back into title consideration almost immediately.
Imavov, on the other hand, has turned his attention back to Strickland. The Frenchman is targeting a rematch with the former middleweight champion after their light heavyweight matchup back in 2023, in which Strickland secured a unanimous decision victory. Imavov will hope this fight gets booked for redemption in the middleweight division.
Featured image credit to Embed from Getty Images
