Herb Dean’s decision to halt the UFC 264 fight between Sean
O’Malley and Kris
Moutinho at the 4:33 mark of Round 3 was controversial, but not
because Moutinho’s safety was at risk.
In the moment, the veteran official’s ruling was not popular
because Moutinho appeared to be reasonably coherent— albeit in an
increasingly lopsided bout. One person who believes Dean made the
right call is UFC president Dana White.
“I think it could have been stopped three minutes before that,”
White said at the UFC 264 post-fight press conference. “He could
have stopped in the second round. That fight could have and should
have been stopped at any moment. I have no problem with that
stoppage.”
When all was said and done, O’Malley set UFC bantamweight records
for most significant strikes landed in a single fight (230), in a
round (83) and significant striking differential (+160). Moutinho,
a short-notice replacement for Louis
Smolka, deserves plenty of credit for remaining in the fight as
long as he did.
“We all know O’Malley hits like a truck,” White said. “That kid has
one-punch knockout power and he hit this kid with everything he
had. Kicks, punches. He couldn’t stop him. I thought he held his
composure really well.”
While O’Malley did his best to put Moutinho away, he also
recognizes the value of an extended performance like the one he
gave on Saturday night.
“I didn’t think he’d be that tough, honestly — 11 days notice. It
was insane how many shots he could take,” O’Malley said. “He said,
‘You’re tired,’ and I said, ‘Hell yeah, I’m tired.’ I just kept
hitting him in the face. You can say whatever you want, I’m still
beating you.
“I think if I had put his lights out right away it wouldn’t
have been the same statement. I really want to go back and re-watch
it, so then I know what I’m talking about.”
O’Malley and Moutinho received “Fight of the Night” honors and
$75,000 apiece for their efforts. Moutinho likely also earned
another chance to prove himself in the Octagon after a career spent
primarily under the CES MMA banner.
“That could have been stopped a round earlier,” White reiterated.
“That guy took some serious punishment. We sent him right to the
hospital, no stopping, no talking, no nothing. Right to the
hospital.”