Controversial stoppage? Jorge Masvidal says he KO'd Donald Cerrone twice at UFC on FOX 23

It’s not a UFC event without some referee controversy, and from all indications, Herb Dean had a pretty big blunder at the end of the final round of Saturday’s UFC on FOX 23 co-main event between Jorge Masvidal and Donald Cerrone.

Masvidal (32-11 MMA, 9-4 UFC) connected with a heavy shot that dropped Cerrone (32-8 MMA, 19-5 UFC) in the closing seconds of Round 1 during the FOX-televised bout at Denver’s Pepsi Center. Masvidal followed with strikes on the ground, and Dean stepped in, seemingly to wave off the fight. The horn sounded a split second after the veteran official’s intervention, though, and he took the opportunity to reverse course and allowed the fight to continue.

Although it seemed like Dean changed his mind on the stoppage during the confusing moments, Masvidal went on to finish the job early the second round when he landed another knockdown before a fight-ending flurry of punches.

It was a chaotic scene after the non-stoppage, but not for Masvidal, he said.

“I wasn’t confused at all,” Masvidal said. “Herb Dean pulled me back. Then I heard the bell. … You can see on TV the bell sounds, and he pulls me right after. I’m not complaining. I’ll take the double knockout. Not a lot of people get those in a night.”

Masvidal said he kept a calm head during the welterweight fight, but that wasn’t the case for many spectators. UFC President Dana White said he didn’t know if the referee had made the right call as he observed everything from cageside.

“I picked up the phone and called (the production team) and said, ‘Was that correct? Was it the end of the round?'” White said after the fight. “It wasn’t. It wasn’t the end of the round.

“He stopped it early. But, to defend Herb Dean, it was so loud in that arena that I didn’t hear it either. Maybe you guys heard it (since) you’re sitting closer to it, but I didn’t hear it. … It is what it is. Mistakes are going to happen.”

Controversy aside, Masvidal was on point in picking up his third consecutive victory. Prior to the winning streak, “Gamebred” went 1-3 with three split-decision losses. Now, though, he’s in groove with momentum on his side. But instead of calling out his next opponent, the 32-year-old called out White and issued a $200,000 challenge to the UFC boss, daring him to find someone who can beat him.

He made it clear post-fight that the offer was no joke.

“Coming over from Strikeforce, I never got those key matchups like a lot of guys did in my division,” Masvidal said. “It’s taken this long that I’ve been in the UFC for me to get that key matchup. I don’t have time to wait. I got other things to do. I got to get the biggest fights I possibly can. I know $200,000 isn’t much to Dana, but to me, I’m a working man, and $200,000 is a lot. I was trying to tell him there’s nobody you can find that can beat me. I’m so confident I’ll put $200,00 of my own money (on it).”

White didn’t address Masvidal’s challenge directly, but he did shower the American Top Team product with praise. Masvidal’s skills have always been there, but an inability to showcase them inside the cage certainly has. The performance against Cerrone proved what he can do at his best, and White said Masvidal showed the marks of a future titleholder.

“He never pulls the trigger, this kid, but he’s incredibly super talented,” White said. “If he fought all the time like he did tonight, he’ll be a world champion.”

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 23, check out the UFC Events section of the site.