4. Yoel Romero vs. Tim Kennedy
UFC 178
Sept. 27 | Las Vegas
The middleweight affair between Romero and Kennedy at UFC 178 in Las Vegas featured a situation so controversial it spawned a new addition to the MMA lexicon: “Stoolgate.”
After nearly being finished at the end of the second frame following a flurry of huge punches from Kennedy, Romero was the beneficiary of more than the one minute of time allotted to a fighter between rounds. In fact, according to UFC President Dana White, Romero rested a total of 90 seconds between the second and third rounds during the event’s “Fight of the Night.”
During this time, multiple factors came into play. For one, when the whistle sounded signaling the period between rounds had elapsed, Romero’s cornermen conveniently left his stool behind and marched out of the Octagon. In addition, referee John McCarthy noticed a heaping glob of Vaseline on Romero’s face that was applied to seal a cut over his left eyebrow, forcing “Big John” to call the cornerman back into the cage in order to wipe off the excess. As this happened, Romero continued to recover.
The rest is history. When the third and final round did finally begin, “Soldier of God” wound up defeating Kennedy via technical knockout. After the event, the talk was not about how much the American Top Team member deserved a shot at another top 10 opponent; it revolved around how Romero had benefitted from the extra time in between rounds.
Regardless, the controversy did not result in an immediate rematch, as Romero was later booked to face Ronaldo Souza at UFC 184 in Los Angeles.
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