Dana White had no major issue with the controversial stoppage in Ryan Garcia’s successful title defense against
Conor Benn.Garcia demolished Benn in less than five minutes in the main event of Zuffa Boxing last night (Sat., Sept. 12, 2026), scoring a second-round technical knockout inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights).
After a competitive opening frame, “King Ryan” caught Benn charging forward with a perfectly timed right hand early in Round 2, sending the British challenger
crashing to the canvas. Benn beat the referee’s count but remained badly hurt as Garcia swarmed him with punches.
Benn covered up and attempted to weather the storm, but referee Tom Taylor stepped between the fighters and waved off the Welterweight title fight at the 1:25 mark. The stoppage immediately drew mixed reactions because Benn was still standing and appeared to be intelligently defending himself—even if he wasn’t offering much offense in return.
During the post-fight press conference, White admitted Taylor may have intervened slightly early but defended the referee’s decision.
In other words, White didn’t appear interested in blaming Taylor for protecting a fighter who had just suffered a brutal knockdown and was eating unanswered punches.
It’s worth noting Benn didn’t protest the stoppage.
The victory marked Garcia’s first successful defense of his World Boxing Council (WBC) Welterweight title and improved his professional record to 26-2 (1 NC). It was also his first stoppage victory since knocking out Oscar Duarte in Dec. 2023.
Benn, meanwhile, suffered the first knockout loss of his professional career and fell to 25-2. Whether Taylor stepped in a few punches too early will remain up for debate, but Garcia appeared well on his way to closing the show regardless.
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