“Wanted Selwady dead in there” - MMA world questions referee Chris Tognoni’s delay in stopping vicious KO at UFC Vegas 87

Fans reacted angrily to a late stoppage on the UFC Vegas 87 Preliminary card.

A lightweight showdown between Abdul-Kareem El-Selwady and Loik Radzhabov kicked off the event. The fight was closely contested as both fighters had moments in the first two rounds.

Heading into the final frame, it appeared that both men needed to win the round convincingly or earn a finish to get the victory. After a brief initial exchange, Selwady took Radzhabov down momentarily.

However, he got back up quickly and knocked Selwady down with a devastating right hand to the side of his head. Selwady seemed to have been knocked but regained consciousness briefly after hitting the canvas.

Radzhabov followed up with a series of hammer fists that went unanswered. Referee Chris Tognoni intervened to stop Selwady from absorbing unnecessary punishment. The video clip of the finishing sequence was recently posted by @mma_orbit on X.

Check out the video of Loik Radzhabov knocking out Abdul-Kareem El-Selwady below:

Fans were unhappy with the late stoppage as it appeared that Selwady had nothing to offer in terms of defense once he went crashing down to the canvas.

@4kfuzz commented:

"Ref wanted Selwady dead in there."

@TheModelManiac wrote:

"The ref needs to restart his wifi ... guy is lagging."

Catch more fan reactions below:

Fan reactions to the stoppage

Radzhabov last competed in Jun 2024 when he suffered a second-round TKO loss against Mateusz Rebecki. The win over Selwady helped him get back in the win column. He now holds an 18-5-1 record as a pro.

During the UFC Vegas 87 post-fight press conference, Radzhabov admitted that the fight could have been stopped early.

As unfortunate as they are, late or premature stoppages are a part of the sport. Referee Chris Tognoni was previously criticized for a questionable judging call while officiating the Ed Herman vs. Mike Rodriguez fight in September 2020.

UFC CEO Dana White, in a strong-worded reaction, had compared Tognoni to referee Steve Mazagatti, who became infamous for questionable refereeing during his tenure.