William Gomis' win over Yanis Ghemmouri at UFC Paris had an utterly bizarre ending that sparked controversy from the MMA community.
PARIS – William Gomis got his first UFC finish, but it didn’t come without controversy.
After two rounds of a technical kickboxing-like match in their featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 226 on Saturday at Accor Arena, Gomis (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) landed a body kick on Yanis Ghemmouri (12-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in Round 3.
Ghemmouri, who was visibly in pain, reacted as though it landed low, but the referee deemed it a legal body kick. When Ghemmouri turned around and didn’t continue fighting, the referee waived the fight off for a TKO win for Gomis at the 2:20 mark of Round 3.
Check out the replay of Gomis’ finish below, which drew boos from the crowd (via Twitter):
William Gomis wins by TKO following this kick #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/o2dsRMl8qX
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 2, 2023
The referee’s decision turned out to be pretty controversial among those in the MMA community, who aired grievances on social media in the minutes that followed.
