Alistair Overeem had certain victory snatched from him Saturday night in Washington D.C. by both his impressive opponent Jairzinho Rozenstruik and referee Dan Miragliotta in the final seconds of their UFC main event. The record books will show Rozenstruik finished Overeem with just four seconds left in the fifth and final round of their bout, and indeed he fought with devastating effectiveness near the close.

Still, what very well could have been an ending without controversy was complicated by confusion the result of indecisive and contradictory officiating from Miragliotta in the chaotic and violent last seconds of the contest. Apparently working from behind, Rozenstruik attacked a tiring Overeem with one final offensive flurry — connecting with a left punch and then a right one to follow that landed with neither of Rozenstruik’s feet planted on the ground.

Both punches did damage but the second one split Overeem’s top lip instantly and dropped him to the mat against the cage wall. At that point, with Rozenstruik facing the felled Overeem and poised to put the finishing touches on the come-from-behind win, the referee leapt into action.

View photos Jairzinho Rozenstruik (L) said digging deep is nothing new for him. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) More

First, he put his hands on Rozenstruik — a clear signal to stop fighting that fighters know to obey — and then the official stepped in between the two fighters with his arms raised. After having the referee place his hands on him, Rozenstruik turned and walked away, seemingly and understandably believing the fight was over.

The only problem, however, was that Miragliotta had not actually waved off the fight and called an official halt to the bout and Overeem immediately jumped up to his feet to continue fighting within a second of hitting the mat. Miragliotta allowed the time on the clock to continue ticking and then, moments later, with Overeem stumbling but on his feet, a mere four seconds left on the clock, and Rozenstruik too far away from Overeem to do any additional damage with the time left, Miragliotta called a halt to the bout.

The television broadcast team soon after reported that Overeem was ahead on all ringside judges’ scorecards four rounds to none, heading into the fifth round. If Miragliotta had stopped the fight immediately after Overeem hit the mat, and after signaling to Rozenstruik that it was over with his actions, there may not have been much to debate.

That Miragliotta allowed the time to continue running, and then that Overeem got back up to his feet and the fight was only then stopped after Overeem’s position had improved and he was actually out of harm’s way, however, unnecessarily marred the ending.

View photos Alistair Overeem of Netherlands reacts after his TKO loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik of Suriname in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Capital One Arena on Dec. 7, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) More

Two things that are incontrovertible, though, are that Overeem won at least the first two-thirds of the fight and that Rozenstruik nonetheless finished things with a punctuation. The win is the UFC rookie’s fourth win of 2019 and he improves his MMA record to a perfect 10-0.

Overeem’s record dips to 45-18-1. Both men have long pro kickboxing records on top of their MMA marks. Rozenstruik began the fight refusing to shake hands with Overeem and afterward explained that he had felt disrespected by “The Demolition Man.”

“You say I’m not [on] you’re level then I think you’re missing something,” he said, post-fight.

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