Rogan and Cormier repeatedly called for referee Mark Smith to wave off the action despite Cruz doing just enough to survive as Medic wailed away at his crawling opponent. When Cruz went from kneeling to prone on the canvas, Smith stepped in at 1:40 of the opening round.
Check out the finish here.
Medic set up the finish with a right hook that took Cruz’s balance. In a desperation shot, Cruz tried to get the fight to the ground, only to take a left hook that sent him staggering across the octagon. A flying knee greeted him, and he covered up for dear life as Medic looked for the telling blow.
As Medic appeared to line up for a head kick, the UFC commentators worried aloud.
“I can’t believe he’s not stopping this,” Rogan said, adding after the stop, “That was a lot of unnecessary punishment in my opinion.”
“I was just hoping Uros wouldn’t have [been] allowed to kick him in the head,” Cormier said. “That was much longer than it needed it to be.”
“I think Mark was giving a tough guy an opportunity to win,” Rogan replied.
Medic, a Contender Series vet, picked up his first octagon win after a successful outing in the UFC audition show. He remains unbeaten after six bouts while Contender Series vet Cruz remains winless in the big show after a loss to Spike Carlyle in his debut.
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