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.
UFC
This one's over! The ref calls it after a potential low blow #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/1nrpptNWpD
— UFC (@ufc) September 2, 2023
Luke Thomas
Uh, did they wave it and the guy thought it was low? WTF?
— Luke Thomas🏋️♀️ (@lthomasnews) September 2, 2023
Caposa
This ref sucks. That was a low blow
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) September 2, 2023
Matthew Wells
What? #UFCParis
— Matthew Wells (@MrMWells) September 2, 2023
Cheyanne Vlismas
What a strange call from the ref #UFCPARIS
— Cheyanne Vlismas (@CheyWarPrincess) September 2, 2023
Aaron Bronsteter
That looked like it at least made contact with the cup, which would mean it's a low blow.
The referee definitely should have just allowed the action to continue if he thought it wasn't low.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 2, 2023
Sean Sheehan
100% a low shot. What is Bisping talking about?
Referee lost the plot. #UFCParis
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) September 2, 2023
Dan Tom
I heard a “fight, fight” (screamed in a fighters second language, mind you), but I didn’t hear the ref say directly to the fighter “Can you continue?”
Regardless of legality of blow, that’s bad protocol right there. #UFCParis
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) September 2, 2023
Michael Chiesa
Do you think it was a low blow or a fair shot in the Gomis vs Ghemmouri fight? #UFCParis
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) September 2, 2023
Danny Segura
Terrible ending to a terrible fight. #UFCParis
— Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv) September 2, 2023
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 226 include:
- William Gomis def. Yanis Ghemmouri via TKO (body kick) – Round 3, 2:20
- Morgan Charriere def. Manolo Zecchini via TKO (body kick) – Round 1, 3:51
- Taylor Lapilus def. Caolan Loughran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ange Loosa def. Rhys McKee via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nora Cornolle def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Farid Basharat def. Kleydson Rodrigues via submission (arm triangle) – Round 1, 4:15
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. Zarah Fairn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-37, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 226.
