Justin Gaethje wasn’t happy with referee Jerin Valel following the UFC Vancouver headliner and a UFC executive believes the bout could’ve been stopped a bit sooner.
Last night (Sept. 14), Gaethje collided with Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC Vancouver. Gaethje and Cerrone are friends and former sparring partners, but they knew what was at stake in this match-up. In the end, it was Gaethje who earned the first-round TKO.
David Shaw Talks Gaethje vs. Cerrone Stoppage
Speaking to reporters following UFC Vancouver, UFC executive David Shaw gave his take on the main event stoppage (via BJPenn.com).
“Justin seemed upset. Cowboy seemed upset. It was one of those situations where Jerin probably gave Cowboy — considering his experience, expertise, and how long he’s been fighting — the benefit of the doubt. It probably could have got stopped a punch earlier,” Shaw said.
“He did the right thing in the end. It probably could have been stopped a punch earlier. Sometimes you have to give guys a bit more leeway to see if they can recover. But from my position, I believe it was stopped a tad too late.”
When Gaethje knocked Cerrone down, it was clear to the viewer that “Cowboy” wasn’t going to survive as he simply didn’t have his bearings and was slow to react. Gaethje urged Valel to stop the fight, but he hesitated which frustrated “The Highlight.” In his post-fight speech, cooler heads prevailed as Gaethje said Valel was just trying to do his job.
