After headbutt controversy, UFC Fight Night 100's Darren Stewart says stoppage was fair

SAO PAULO – It wasn’t without its share of controversy, but Darren Stewart ultimately came out on top on his UFC debut.

Stewart (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) stopped Francimar Barroso (18-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) with punches at UFC Fight Night 100’s opening scrap after an accidental headbutt. In spite of complaints from Barroso and boos from the crowd, the official call was a technical knockout for the British fighter, who saw no problem with the stoppage.

“I think it was fair,” Stewart said. “A fight is a fight. It is what it is, you know? I did what I had to do and the ref jumped in. If it was me in that situation, it would have been same thing – a fight is a fight. If I did headbutt, he would have gone down straight away, but he carried on.

“It feels great. I worked hard to be here. People that know me know my struggle to be here, and I worked hard to be here. It feels great. For my debut, to finish that quickly, that was even more great, you know? A bit of history for myself.”

The light heavyweight bout opened up the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 100 event at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo. It was one of two bouts that streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of the rest of the card on FS1.

The win had a special taste for the 205-pounder, who had to miss his son’s second birthday in order to make his UFC debut. It was yet another sacrifice that Stewart had to make after almost missing his son’s birth in order to make his second professional MMA fight.

Given the circumstances, the win “was a must.”

“Two years ago, I left my Mrs. in labor to come fight,” Stewart said. “She was pregnant. I left her there, went to go fight, won my fight, my son turned upside down, so I went back to the hospital and I was back in time to see him being born.”

Stewart, who says he isn’t concerned about the result being later overturned, is now on a three-TKO streak – with all but two of his career fights having ended before the final bell.

Finishes, he says, are what he’s always been good at – and, incidentally, what we can expect from him moving forward.

“I’m very very happy,” Stewart said. “I did what I do best, to put people out. (You can expect) the same, more finishes, more finishes from ‘The Dentist.’”

For more on Stewart’s thoughts on his debut, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 100, check out the UFC Events section of the site.