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After watching UFC 104 last night everyone at WKR has taken on responsibilities to report (I sound so professional) about a few different events from the fights.  The major controversy and what will be the most talked about across the board is obviously the Machida/Rua decision.  While I had Rua winning the fight as most did there was also another issue up for debate from UFC 104.  Cain Velasquez dominated the first six minutes of his fight against Ben Rothwell and it appeared as if we were about to get another dominating performance from the young prospect.  Then the fight was stopped in Cain's favor and a dispute arose.  Even though Rothwell was without question losing the fight he appeared as if he was still good to continue following the stoppage.  The question of whether the fight was stopped to early had become a legitimate question.  When I first decided to write about the stoppage my plan was to take one side over the other.  However, with every argument I made I found myself countering my own arguments.  It turned into a two person conversation with only one person involved (I am seeking help already).  The reason behind this is that there are valid points for both sides.  Instead I have presented arguments for and against the stoppage in order to reach a conclusion.  Arguments and conclusion after the jump.

UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun coverage

Good Stoppage

Steve Mazzagatti is far from criticism and in no way the strongest referee out there, but in regards to the Cain Velasquez/Ben Rothwell stoppage I have no problem.  The stoppage had more to do with the previous six minutes of the fight then the actual moment it took place.  The fight was almost stopped at the end of the first, Velasquez was taking down and smashing Rothwell at will, and Rothwell took six clean punches to face when Mazzagatti stepped in.  When Mazzagatti made his move to separate the fighters the sixth punch was about to land.  Rothwell was on his way, but had not broken free yet and it appeared as if the two potential outcomes would be Ben getting taken down again or he would keep eating shots.  When a fighter has been blasted for six full minutes it weighs in a referee's head.  It is impossible to ask him to completely ignore what had previously occurred during the fight.  Couple this with six clean shots to the face that go completely unblocked (Rothwell did not even attempt to block) and you have a recipe for stoppage.  The fighter's health has to be taken into account and Ben was taking a lot of punishment.

Poor Stoppage

On the other hand, from the moment Mazzagatti stepped in Rothwell was clear headed, able to stand himself up, and ready to keep fighting.  Although we cannot say with complete certainty that it would have happened it did appear that Rothwell was going to be able to stand back up even without the stoppage.  The reason Rothwell was not defending the punches was because his focus was getting back up to his feet.  The fact he was choosing to stand up and eat shots can be taken as a sign that the punches were not having a significant effect on him and therefore a reason to not stop the fight.  The previous domination of the fight can also be seen as a reason to provide Rothwell with more leeway.  Rothwell was getting pummeled and taken down at will toward the end of the first round (Mazzagatti looked like he was ready to stop the fight then), but he was still able to bring the fight back to the feet before the round ended.  If Ben was able to stand back up from the mat then Mazzagatti should have given him the benefit of the doubt when against the cage.

Many fighters are given longer leashes based on their popularity or their history of not being finished.  If a fighter has shown a strong chin in the past then the referee is less likely to stop a fight.  With Rothwell not fighting in the UFC it is not surprising that he was not given the same courtesy, but refs may want to start taking into account Velasquez's punching power.  Do not get me wrong, if Velasquez hit me with a nerf football around his hand I would probably be put to sleep for around 5 days, but he is a smaller heavyweight to begin with and has shown problems finishing people in the past.  I know he has finished six of his seven opponents, but the Rothwell one is obviously up for debate, he dominated for 15 minutes and could not finish Kongo, O'Brien did not look hurt after getting stopped, and it took Cain way too long to finish Stojnic with the position he had.  Cain's difficulty to finish opponents may be due to lacking big power in his hands or simply being smaller than most heavyweights.  This should be taken into account when he is using his wrestling to dominate position.

Decision

In hindsight the fight should not have been stopped.  Rothwell was clearly good to continue, he had almost stood himself up, and Cain has just recently shown a difficulty to finish fighters.  However, we have the ability to look retrospectively and take everything into account, the referee (Mazzagatti) does not.  Considering the amount of punches Rothwell had taken, the manner in which Cain had dominated, and the fact I believe a late stoppage is a far worse crime than an early stoppage I have no problem with when Mazzagatti stopped the fight.  The truth is the only reason there is a legitimate debate about stoppage is because where Mazzagatti stopped it.  If Rothwell was still on the mat and six power punches had landed unanswered no one would be objecting the stoppage, regardless of how Ben looked after the fight.  The fact he was close to standing is the real issue of concern.  With any sport, especially MMA, anyone has a puncher's chance of winning, but it appeared as if this fight was going to be a repeat of the Kongo fight.  The timing of the stoppage was poor, but overall I do not have a problem with Mazzagatti's decision and I think he did a fine job.