Gallery Ben Askren def. Robbie Lawler at UFC 235: Best photos view 19 images

LAS VEGAS – One of UFC 235’s most talked-about fights going into the event became perhaps its most talked-about afterward, too, due to a controversial stoppage.

In a featured welterweight bout on the main card, Ben Askren (19-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his promotional debut with a first-round submission win over former champion Robbie Lawler (28-13 MMA, 13-7 UFC). But immediately after referee Herb Dean waved off the fight, believing Lawler was out from a bulldog choke, Lawler popped up in protest.

Replays showed Lawler’s right arm appearing to go limp. Dean checked the arm, then stopped the fight a second later. A visibly upset Lawler argued the stoppage with Dean, momentarily, then appeared to quickly come to terms with the outcome.

After the event, Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett told MMAjunkie at a post-fight news conference that the commission’s stance is that there is no issue with the stoppage and that he tells referees before fights to err on the side of caution.

“With the Nevada State Athletic Commission, our No. 1 priority is the health and safety of the fighter,” Bennett told MMAjunkie. “In our pre-(fight briefings), I specifically instruct the referees that we stop the fights one punch or one kick sooner (rather) than later in the interest in the health and safety of the fighter.

“Robbie is a phenomenal warrior. He’s been in the business for quite some time. He was clearly out … and Herb decided to pull the plug and say he was submitted. … Robbie jumped right up and said, ‘Hey, what the (expletive), man? I was good,’ or words to that effect, and he and Herb had a conversation. Kudos to Robbie, because he was a consummate professional, talked to Herb afterward, came to whatever understanding they did, congratulated the opponent, and that was the end of the fight. I can tell you right now as the executive director, and on behalf of the commission, none of us had a problem with that.”

UFC 235 took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.

The state of Nevada is using a modified version of the universal MMA ruleset, and video replay is available to referees if necessary. In fact, unlike most other state athletic commissions, the new rule in Nevada is that a fight is allowed to be restarted after replay is consulted, rather than automatically over if replay is involved.

But in Askren’s win over Lawler, Dean did not use the replay after making his decision to stop the fight, which came at the 3:20 mark of the first round.

“In that particular instance, no, we didn’t need instant replay,” Bennett said. “Herb didn’t ask for it (from us), nor did I think we needed it because it was right in front of me. You take a look at his arm, and it was a no-brainer from where we sat. … When you see that arm just drop, it’s just not worth it for us for the fighter.

“You could see right in front of us when Herb picked up his hand, his hand just dropped, which would be indicative of him being out. … There was no doubt in our mind that he was out.”

Askren’s choke on Lawler came at the end of a rally from a massive early onslaught from Lawler that left the unbeaten Askren battered and his face bloodied. Askren, an elite Olympic-level wrestler who was making his UFC debut after a brief retirement on the heels of titles for Bellator and ONE Championship, was taken down by Lawler early in the fight and dumped onto his head.

But after surviving Lawler’s barrage by being just defensive enough to keep Dean from stopping the fight for what would’ve been the first loss of his career, Askren recovered enough to get Lawler to the canvas with a grinding takedown and worked his way for the choke.

After the controversial win, UFC President Dana White, long an Askren critic before he finally signed with the UFC, said he hopes to make a rematch between him and Lawler. But Askren said he’d prefer to fight the winner of the upcoming UFC on ESPN+ 5 main event between Darren Till and Jorge Masvidal, which takes place later this month in London. Askren said he will be in London to watch that fight.

For complete coverage of UFC 235, check out the UFC Events section of the site.