UFC Fight Night 169 saw what many are slamming the ‘worst stoppage ever seen in MMA history’ after an extremely controversial finish in the match-up between Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba.A lively opening to the bout saw referee Kevin McDonald put a stop to the fight after just 38 seconds in the Chartway Arena in Norfolk Virginia.The light-heavyweight clash saw a rapid-fire opening as Cutelaba instigated the initial action before being on the receiving end of a barrage of head-kicks from Ankalaev.Head-kicks from Ankaleav caused Cutlaba to stumble but nevertheless seemed in full control of what he was doing still; so much so that he answered Ankalaev with shots of his own albeit some sloppy swings but a reply none the less.To the sheer disbelief of fans in attendance as well as the two fighters inside the Octagon, Cutelaba was enraged by the referee’s decision to stop the fight as he clearly felt he was responsive and still fully able to combat Ankalaev.As is common knowledge a lot can happen inside 38 seconds in the Octagon but in this case, it’s hard to see the justification for the stoppage so early on in the fight; to the neutral spectator, both fighters looked to be putting on a real show and were most certainly getting stuck into each other, to say the least.Referee McDonald certainly didn’t see it that way and felt that Cutelaba was in no fit state to continue.

The pair couldn’t have disagreed more, enough so to make Cutelaba shove MacDonald away in anger and state his case after the decision was made that he was indeed fully capable of continuing.

McDonald’s decision means that Ankalaev will be awarded the victory in a win that will be recorded inside the very first minute of the first round.

The UFC even stated on their Twitter account that it was a ‘controversial finish’ to the fight and it would seem apparent that not everybody shared the referee’s opinion.