Last weekend at UFC Abu Dhabi, Steven Nguyen unleashed a savage two-round mauling, dropping Mohammad Yahya a jaw-dropping six times in round one alone, setting a UFC record. Veteran referee Jason Herzog finally waved off the carnage between rounds two and three, but not before Yahya’s eye was mangled beyond recognition (watch highlights).
This wasn’t just a fight—it was a one-sided demolition that’s got the MMA world buzzing about fighter safety.
UFC broadcaster Jon Anik, who wasn’t cageside, didn’t
hold back on his Anik & Florian Podcast.
“What are we doing in the form of fighter safety?” Anik fumed. “Maybe I should call my friend Jason Herzog, who I really do love and be like, ‘Hey Jason, it’s Jon. Do me a favor and just stop the fight?’ There’s a lot to unpack here...I felt like the fight should’ve been stopped. Paul Felder said toward the end of round two, ‘This fight is not going to continue, right? Because a physician is going to get involved here.’”
Anik noted that commentator Michael Bisping first called for a potential stoppage at the two-and-a-half-minute mark of round one due to the barrage of knockdowns.
“I do believe, because we’re not assessing concussive damage live in the moment, but after a myriad of knockdowns, I’m not saying there should be a knockdown rule in mixed martial arts, but it does exist for a reason. After six or even of these f—king things we can stop the fight,” Anik said.
Yahya, who’s been lackluster in his UFC run, was a human punching bag, offering zero intelligent defense as Nguyen teed off. Look, I’m a “Just Bleed” kind of guy like the rest of you, but this was hard to watch. Herzog’s decision to let the slaughter was bad.
Anik, however, gave Herzog some credit, referencing his handling of the 2024 Fight of the Year: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics.
“Tapology ranks the Zellhuber vs. Ribovics as the 34th greatest lightweight fight of all time in MMA, and the No. 1 fight of the year in 2024. Jason Herzog was the referee for Zellhuber and Ribovics,” Anik said. “I don’t know if I was suggestive on the broadcast that the fight should’ve been stopped at one point in time, but I thought Zellhuber should have sort of been saved to live to fight another day. The result was Herzog masterfully letting the fight play out, and the result was the Fight of the Year.”
Still, Anik wasn’t letting Herzog completely off the hook. “But my thesis statement always is, ‘What are we doing in the form of fighter safety?’ The ends don’t justify the means. If there’s a rally and a Fight of the Year ensues, just because Mohammad Yahya doesn’t have an orbital fracture doesn’t mean that heretofore it doesn’t mean he’s going to pay dearly for this.”
MMA’s history is littered with epic comebacks—think Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo or Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin—where fighters absorbed hell only to snatch victory. But Yahya? He was never in this fight, eating shots with no hope of a rally.
The Unified Rules of MMA, set in 2000, don’t have a knockdown limit, but Nguyen-Yahya has reignited the debate. Maybe there should be a set knockdown rule to protect fighters.
What do you think, Maniacs?
For complete UFC Abu Dhabi results, coverage and highlights click HERE.
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