Dana Whiteโs Contender Series is now in full swing. Dana White awards contracts to great athletes looking to make their mark in the worldโs biggest MMA promotion. Young and hungry fighters are generating incredible MMA combat. Aside from the violent knockouts and submissions, these contests have numerous debatable errors owing to the incompetence of UFC officials.
Last night at DWCS Week 9, Kody Steele took on Chasen Blair in a lightweight clash. Steele won the fight via a brutal TKO and extended his undefeated streak. After receiving a short left punch, Blair collapsed to the ground, resulting in a delayed shutdown. As the camera panned to Dana White, he was definitely hyped by the shot.
In order to end the fight, Steele followed up with a nasty hammer fist on the grounded opponent. Blair fell to the ground earlier in dramatic fashion.ย Referee Blake Grice had to jump in and tackle Steele out of the fight. However, he surely did take his time. By then, Blair was already helpless and took some unnecessary shots directed towards him.
Kody Steele is THE REAL DEAL ๐ซก
[ #DWCS is LIVE NOW on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/D09ruXkOAV
โ UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2024
In the middle of all that brutal MMA action, referees have the most important job of ensuring the safety of fighters. However, there are many occasions where the refs have not stopped the fight soon enough. Mario Yamasaki is one of the biggest examples of this; he was banned from UFC by Dana White for his inability to protect fighters.ย ย
Fight Fans react to Kody Steeleโs brutal knockout at Dana Whiteโs Contender Seriesย
The criticism around bad refereeing and controversial scoring is high in UFC. Fight fans are frustrated to see their favorite fighters regularly lose due to the inconsistent system. Referee Herb Dean got a lot of heat for his questionable referring at the main event of UFC 306. Last week, fans criticized the controversial decision after UFC veteran Jose Aldo lost his bout.ย
Dana White has also been very vocal about this and has shown his disappointment towards it. Steele vs. Blairโs fight became a talking point point this week as well. Here are some reactions to Kody Steeleโs brutal knockout at DWCS last night.ย
What was the ref waiting for??? For realโฆthis was the most excessive KO everโฆthe dude was out for multiple seconds before he even reactedโฆ
โ Patroklos Stefanou (@formyxscarfalo1) October 9, 2024
This sport is dangerous man pic.twitter.com/bSMyQAzTQ2
โ LS23โข (@23utdLS) October 9, 2024
He has POWER in those hands. They should do bone density tests on the fighters hands and compare.
โ Robbie Andrew (@RiseOpenEyes) October 9, 2024
hammerfist from hell
โ Young Pistoliรฑo (@cad_chamberlain) October 9, 2024
Heโs a dick, for the unnecessary strikes at a defenseless fighter at the end
โ JohnGalt (@JohnGal30312406) October 9, 2024
What was the ref waiting for??? For realโฆthis was the most excessive KO everโฆthe dude was out for multiple seconds before he even reactedโฆ
โ Patroklos Stefanou (@formyxscarfalo1) October 9, 2024
A few extra for good measure
โ Alpha (@Web3verseAlpha) October 9, 2024
Destroyed his opponent
โ JAG Talks (@JAGtalks) October 9, 2024
Nasty body shots ๐
โ ๐๐ฬ๐ซ๐ข๐๐จ (@KMARUS) October 9, 2024
As expected, man fans pointed out the unnecessary punches thrown by Kody Steele and how the referee made a mistake and didnโt stop the fight soon enough. Others didnโt really care about it and were just awestruck by Steeleโs raw power. With this performance, fans are excited to see the fighter in the UFC in the future.
