Diego Sanchez stepped into the Octagon against Joe Lauzon during the UFC 200 prelims, and didn’t do much else as Lauzon battered him around the ring for a minute and a half until referee Mark Smith finally stepped in and called halted the bout. Smith received a ton of criticism for not stepping in earlier, as Sanchez was knocked around the ring over and over, at times turning and running away from the action and falling to the mat several times.
WOW!!!!!! @JoeLauzon is a beast! #UFC200 https://t.co/e6KMtQ8iKt
— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2016
Diego, of course, has the reputation of unrivaled toughness and an unmatched will, but not even a minute into the fight it was academic. Lauzon landed a lengthy combination, capped off with a huge left hook and a right hand cross that dropped Sanchez to his knees, and the fight was essentially over then but Smith watched as Lauzon continued to wail on Sanchez.
Diego actually recovered quickly from the first knockdown, only to get sent right back to the mat with another huge left as soon as he got to his feet. Smith eventually warned Sanchez to fight back, and he tried a little but was sent staggering to the cage in retreat as Lauzon continued to unload on him, finally getting the stoppage.
The leeway Smith allowed Sanchez drew the ire of plenty on Twitter, including a few fighters.
https://twitter.com/MeansTim/status/751923448914456576
Gotta be time to call it a day… Maybe move into motivational speaking or something.
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) July 9, 2016
Two of the most aggressive warriors just went at it. @JoeLauzon …just too much. Diego is NOT an easy guy to stop. Impressive! #UFC200
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) July 9, 2016
#UFC200 My goodness Diego Sanchez is such a warrior I hate seeing him loose…and I wanted to kick that ref in the nuts
— @DannyFinnz (@DannyFinnz2) July 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/Epimetheus2K/status/751923845460742144