Referee Jason Herzog earns praise after excellent stoppage in the Alexander Volkov vs Alistair Overeem fight
Veteran UFC referee Jason Herzog is getting flooded with praise on social media for a great stoppage in the UFC Vegas 18 main event.
Alexander Volkov put on a dominant show from the very beginning, picking apart Alistair Overeem with every strike he connected. The former K-1 Grand Prix champion's face was already busted up with cuts and bruises when 'Drago' connected with the brutal hook that dropped his opponent to the ground in the second round.
Referee Jason Herzog stepped in as soon as Overeem hit the canvas. In most cases, the referee waits for the potential winner to land a couple of finishing punches to seal the deal, but Herzog in this case did not let Alistair Overeem take any more punishment than it was necessary.
The stoppage came at 2:06 minutes into the second round of the bout. Here's a look at the excellent stoppage by Jason Herzog.
Jason Herzog kept his promise of 'getting better'
With two heavyweights like Overeem and Volkov inside the cage at UFC Vegas 18, there was no room for any error for the referee present. Volkov attacked Overeem with constant strikes on the feet right from the bell, not allowing the latter to find any scope for counterattack.
Volkov already had Overeem on the mat once in the first round, but 'The Demolition Man' found his way back to his feet that time. However, the second time around, Volkov made sure that did not happen. Backing Overeem against the cage, Volkov came in all guns blazing with combinations while taking little to no punishment himself. One final vicious left hook left Overeem literally on all fours, and Jason Herzog was seen stepping in to protect him from further hurt.
Jason Herzog has been criticized in the near past for letting the fight between Glover Teixeira vs. Anthony Smith fight continue despite the latter taking a sheer amount of damage. Herzog had taken full responsibility of the matter, and had promised to be better in the future.
It seems like he kept his word with this fight.
Following are some of the tweets from UFC fans and followers acknowledging the excellent stoppage by Jason Herzog.