Knocked out at UFC 259, Rogério Bontorin criticizes the referee and asks for a rematch with his rival: 'I fight for free'

R. Bontorin (left) was defeated by K. Kara-France (right) in the UFC 259. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Defeated in one of the most anticipated fights on the preliminary card of the UFC 259, Rogerio Bontorin has not yet digested the setback for Kai Kara France. Less than a week after the negative result, the man from Paraná asked the New Zealander for a rematch and criticized the referee of the match, Herb Dean, for the interruption. The Brazilian was knocked out in the first round.

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“I’m going to get the rematch. If I fight him ten times, I can only lose once, which is what happened. I was so sad. He was doing very well in the fight, with 100% of his energy. I've never been in a better headspace than this time. I was sure of victory and it happened. I'll fight him next week, I'll even fight for free. I'm going to dream about him”, said Bontorin, in an interview with 'Combate'.

In the fight, Rogério, in fact, had a dominant start. Most of the time, the Paraná native dominated the actions against the New Zealander and conducted the confrontation calmly. However, towards the end of the round, the Brazilian was surprised by a punch from his rival, which took him to the ground. Believing that the Tupiniquim was no longer able to continue in the duel, the referee interrupted the dispute, which generated criticism from Bontorin.

“I never deleted it. I fell on my head, but I was awake. I was going to enter the 'Bahiana' and I saw the judge in front. I lay back indignant, not knocked out, because I saw that the fight was over. I was pissed. I didn't delete it. It was the moment that would give excitement to the fight. He finished very quickly, he should have left two or three more strokes, which wasn't going to happen, because I would have gotten tangled up. Herb Dean was close, he was in the middle, not knowing if it was over or not. You have to decide. He got in the way of the fight. That’s what he did,” he concluded.

Representative of the flyweights (up to 56,7kg.), Bontorin ended up suffering his second consecutive negative result. With the setback, the man from Paraná ended up losing eighth place in the rankings to his opponent and is now ninth.