As Tim Kennedy came out for the third round of his UFC 178 middleweight bout against Yoel Romero, he was smelling blood.
Sure, some of it might have been his own after taking some vicious lefts from the highly touted Romero (9-1). But as the second round came to a close, Kennedy had a quickly tiring Romero out on his feet as the horn sounded. Perhaps given another 10 or 15 seconds, Kennedy would have finished Romero for a TKO victory.
Instead, it was Romero who got an extra 30 seconds.
While Kennedy was ready to go, Romero inexplicably continued to sit on his stool as his cornermen rehydrated him with water, wiped excess Vaseline off a significant gash above his left eye and toweled him off. Still clearly dazed, Romero finally got off the stool as referee John McCarthy and a Nevada State Athletic Commission official physically pulled Romero off the stool while an incensed Kennedy knew he was missing his chance to finish off a stunned Romero.
A point was deducted from Romero to boot.
Those 30 seconds seemed to allow Romero to gather himself, and shortly after the third round began, the explosive Romero charged Kennedy with a lunging jab that missed, but he managed to connect with a follow-up right hook square on Kennedy’s already broken nose. As Kennedy went down in a heap, Romero pounced on Kennedy (18-5) for the win, ending Kennedy’s four-win fight streak. Meanwhile, Romero extended his own streak to five wins.
However, the win didn’t come without controversy, and UFC president Dana White addressed the issue during the postfight news conference.
“Look, it’s one of the oldest and dirtiest tricks in the book,” White said. “The athletic commissioner was literally screaming at him to get up and his corner to get out of the Octagon. It’s unfortunate it happened. But from what I was told, he had too much Vaseline on his face. I’m still trying to figure out if it was our cut guy, or their cut guy. But it’s the responsibility of the corner people to get the stool out of the Octagon.”
At press time, there was no decision of any sort in regard to disciplinary action for Romero, but Romero apologized for taking too much time, but he wasn’t milking the clock to clear the cobwebs.
“I was ready when it was time to go,” Romero said.
The incident begs the question whether the fighters will engage in a rematch. It was reported in postfight analysis on Fox Sports 1 that Kennedy confronted Romero backstage.
“If you don’t get up when you’re supposed to get off the stool, the fight’s over,” said current UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman, who was serving as a color analyst on the Fox Sports 1 postfight analysis.
“It’s extremely dirty trick to stay on the stool an extra 30 seconds when you’re rocked,” former middleweight Brian Stann said. “But when you’re hurt, you’re going to listen to your coach. When there are a lot of people in the Octagon, there’s always some confusion as to what they needed to do.”
Controversy aside, the fight showcased the considerable explosiveness that Romero possesses.
At one point, Romero looked like a blitzing linebacker, shooting the gap and exploding through Kennedy like a rag doll. The fighters earned $50,000 each for "Fight of the Night" bonuses.
As for Kennedy, who has struggled to break through to elite contender status within the UFC, the loss sets the former Army Ranger back a rung or two. And at 35 years old, the window on his title contention is rapidly shrinking. His strikes lacked the speed and power of Romero, who is actually older (at 37) than Kennedy.
But during the postfight news conference, White alluded to the fact that both fighters might relish the idea to prove their mettle without controversy. Indeed, after two rounds, the scorecards were tied at 19-19, even after Romero was docked a point by McCarthy.
“It’s very unfortunate, it’s an odd thing that almost never happens,” White said. “But who knows? I’m sure Kennedy wants a rematch.”
For Romero, it was the second time he had come back from near defeat (and unconsciousness) in the third round to ultimately pull out the win. Against Derek Brunson at a UFC Fight Night event Jan. 14, Romero knocked out Brunson with less than two minutes left in the bout, also earning a "Fight of the Night" bonus.
Nevertheless, it’s a bitter pill for Kennedy to swallow, who literally had Romero on skates.
“If you can’t get off the stool in a minute, the fight is over," Kennedy said. "Not a minute and a half, not two minutes, not two and a half minutes while your coaches are still putting Vaseline on you and toweling you off. That fight should’ve been over, period."