Jared Cannonier recently conveyed that he bears no animosity toward referee Jason Herzog for the controversial stoppage of his fight against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night Louisville.
Cannonier suffered a fourth-round TKO loss to Imavov in June when Herzog stepped in to halt the fight as the former UFC middleweight title challenger attempted to defend himself against a relentless barrage of strikes from his opponent.
Although "The Killa Gorilla" appeared shaken before the stoppage, it didn't seem that he was on the brink of being finished, as evidenced by his visible frustration and immediate protest of the referee's decision.
Loading tweet...
Herzog, widely regarded as one of the most respected and experienced referees in MMA, faced intense scrutiny from the MMA community for what many deemed a premature stoppage. Even Cannonier, at the time, described the entire situation as "gut-wrenching."
Despite the controversy, "The Killa Gorilla," who is set to make his return to the Octagon this Saturday to headline a Fight Night event against the undefeated Caio Borralho, insists that he holds no grudges against Herzog for the loss…
Cannonier on Herzog's Judgment: 'We All Make Mistakes'
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Cannonier opened up about his stoppage loss to Imavov. The 40-year-old Texan emphasized that Herzog wasn't at fault, noting that the referee was simply fulfilling his duty and, in fact, spared him from taking further damage from his opponent.
I'm not going to be salty like that. Herzog is a good referee," Cannonier said. "I mean, he's human; we all make mistakes or erroneous judgments, you know what I mean? To whatever degree we may perceive them to be, he was just doing his job in keeping me safe—or, you know what I'm saying, getting paid off to let the Frenchman win, I don't know. But whatever the f**k, man. I didn't go in there and knock out Imavov, so this is what I have to deal with.
Cannonier further expressed that he wants to ensure such mistakes don’t occur again.
I get the lessons from the unfortunate things that may have happened, like these stoppages and sh*t like that. Hopefully, it doesn't happen again. Hopefully, these refs will give me an opportunity—if they see me on my feet, don't stop the fight. You won't see me on my feet getting battered like a speed bag making that sound or something like that.
Cannonier's loss was a tough setback, especially after his impressive back-to-back victories over Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland. A win would have positioned him as a prime contender for a second shot at the championship, but now he finds himself pushed further down the ranks in the contender lineup.