Askren vs Thomas ref stoppage controversy

 In the featured bout of the evening on Thursday night at Bellator 14, 2008 Olympian Ben Askren caught Ryan Thomas in an Arm-In Guillotine. The referee stopped the contest at 2:40 of the first round, believing Thomas was out. This was heatedly denied by many fans, as well as Thomas himself.

Below is a gif of the stoppage, and audio with transcription of the post fight press conference exchange between Askren and Thomas.

Ben Askren:

“When I was in the cage I didn’t know what happened. Because from my postion throwijng a choke on, I couldn’t see what happened.”

“Ryan it was pretty tight, I don’t think you were getting out and you might have even been asleep so I think it’s time for you to accept defeat graciously.”

Ryan Thomas:

“The Choke he had one side blocked off the other side was fine. If I did more squirming it only would have made the choke tighter. It’s not his fault, it’s just a bad call by the referee.”

“Next season, I really want to fight that referee first fight.”