Referee defends “disgraceful” stoppage in Kubrat Pulev vs Frank Mir fight

Top heavyweight boxer Pulev knocked out MMA veteran Mir at ‘Triad Combat’ last weekend and referee Dan Miragliotta was criticised for his stoppage in the fight

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Veteran referee Dan Miragliotta has defended his stoppage of Kubrat Pulev’s knockout win against Frank Mir at Triller’s MMA-boxing hybrid event.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Mir was knocked out by Pulev in under two minutes of the first round at ‘Triad Combat’ last weekend.

Before the stoppage, Pulev landed a right hand that left Mir flat-footed with his hands down as Miragliotta took a close look at the MMA veteran.

The Bulgarian followed up with an uppercut that sent Mir wobbling into the corner and barely staying on his feet, Miragliotta only stopped the fight as Pulev was about to land another punch.

Triller has since been criticised for their matchmaking after the 42-year-old Mir – who is 0-2 as a boxer – was matched with a former titleholder in Pulev.

One fan branded the referee “disgraceful’ while another said they were “scared” watching the fight, but Miragliotta has defended his stoppage and said he was always in a position to now allow Pulev to land another blow.

“I was waiting for Pulev to come in. That would have made it so much easier for me,” he told MMA Fighting.

“As soon as he would have made one step as if he was attacking, I was in a position with my left shoulder and the left side of my body to bump him, push him out, and stop the fight.

“But he didn’t engage – he backed off, and that’s why I kept watching Mir. Then Mir didn’t go down and didn’t put his hands back up as soon as Pulev made that slight step, I stepped in and stopped the fight. It was easy.”

Fans and other fighters were quick to react to the stoppage, with former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen accusing Mir of “acting” in his loss.

Legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas was also among the critics of Miragliotta and said the referee shouldn’t have waited for Pulev to walk towards Mir to stop the fight.

What did you make of the stoppage in Kubrat Pulev vs Frank Mir? Let us know in the comments section below

And Miragliotta explained his reasoning to let Mir continue after being hurt by Pulev despite being defenceless in the corner of the ring.

“I didn’t want to allow Pulev to come in and hit him again,” he continued.

“But when Pulev backed out, I figured Mir has a chance to either go down and take that knee or put his hands up.

“He didn’t do either one, so that’s why I stopped it.”

Miragliotta was at the centre of controversy in 2019 for clashing with Bellator standout Michael ‘Venom’ Page during his fight with Richard Kiely.

The referee labelled Page a “piece of s***” but later apologised and vowed to not referee any of Page’s fights in the future.