UFC 178 results, photos: Yoel Romero stops Tim Kennedy in controversial finish

LAS VEGAS – Yoel Romero (9-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) got the win in a wild, bloody battle with Tim Kennedy (18-5 MMA, 3-1 MMA), but it was not without some controversy.

After nearly being knocked out to end the second, Romero remained on his stool for what seemed like a long time after the third round was due to start, earning himself an extra recovery period at a pivotal moment.

Kennedy didn’t like it, and neither did the crowd, but it seemed to pay off for Romero, who exploded with a right hook early on in the final round, dropping Kennedy and setting off the sequence that would end in a TKO win for Romero at 0:58 of round three.

The middleweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 178 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For the first round and a half, Romero seemed to be in total control of this one. He bloodied Kennedy with punches in the first, shrugging off his takedown attempts and tossing him around with relative ease. But as Romero began to tire late in the second, Kennedy came on hard with uppercuts in the clinch. In the final seconds of the round, Kennedy seemed to have Romero nearly knocked out, but as he moved in to finish, the horn sounded just in time to save the former Olympic wrestler.

That’s when things got strange, as Romero’s corner took their time getting out of the cage before the third, with Romero remaining on his stool long after he was called to rise and begin the next round. With Kennedy getting indignant, referee John McCarthy finally managed to shoo Romero’s corner out of the cage and haul Romero to his feet. Soon thereafter, Kennedy was off his.

The way it went down will likely be regarded as a controversy, but it does down as a win for Romero, who didn’t let the wounded Kennedy off the hook once he had him down. Instead, he poured on the ground-and-pound, even clocking Kennedy in the back of the head right before McCarthy moved in to stop it. And while the victory probably felt just as sweet for Romero, the crowd let him know it was not as clean and clear as it could have been.

With the win, Romero has now won four straight in the UFC. Kennedy loses for the first time since joining the organization.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 178 results include:

• Yoel Romero def. Tim Kennedy via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 0:58
• Cat Zingano def. Amanda Nunes via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:21
• Dominick Cruz def. Takeya Mizugaki via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:01
• Jorge Masvidal def. James Krause via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Stephen Thompson def. Patrick Cote via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Brian Ebersole def. John Howard via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Kevin Lee def. Jon Tuck via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
• Manny Gamburyan def. Cody Gibson via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 4:56

For complete coverage of UFC 178, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Matt Erickson contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)