Dana White’s stand-in reveals what was said to Jason Herzog after UFC Abu Dhabi controversy

Yahya only made it out of the first round because of the bell, but he came out swinging in the second, showing plenty of heart.

But things got worse for him quickly. A massive swelling under his eye shut it completely, and Herzog stepped in at the end of round two to call the fight off

The decision came too late for many fans, who questioned why Yahya had to take so much punishment before the fight was stopped.

Although UFC president Dana White was absent from the event, it was executive Dave Shaw who addressed the media afterward, offering his take on the controversy surrounding referee Jason Herzog.

“It’s interesting, we talked to Herzog after and he was commenting that there were moments in the fight where Yahya looked like he was right back in it,” Shaw said at the post-fight press conference.

“So he’d get knocked down, he’d get knocked down quickly, I think there were maybe five in the first round, maybe two more in the second and then I think how rapidly his eye changed and got swollen.”

Shaw added: “I mean, what do I think? I think definitely there was a solid argument that the fight could’ve been called earlier but (Herzog) provided his justification and it seemed fine to me.”

Positive news for Yahya following post-fight scans

Given the swelling and damage around his eye, there were fears Yahya might have suffered a broken orbital or cheekbone. However, an update during the main card provided some positive news.

‘The UAE Warrior’  avoided any facial fractures in the loss, with CT scans coming back negative to rule out any serious injury.