UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes successfully defended her belt in Rio last night, knocking out a bloodied Raquel Pennington in the fifth round of their UFC 224 clash. Nunes was largely comfortable throughout with referee Marc Goddard eventually calling a halt to proceedings at the 2:36 mark in the fifth and final round.
Pennington was struggling at the start of that round, as blood cascaded from her nose having been caught by Nunes' knee. Pennington told her corner that she was finished before that final round began, only for her corner to refuse to allow her to quit.
You can watch a video of that below:
"I'm done!"
Corner: "No, no, no, no."
Raquel Pennington is finished in the fifth round just moments after telling her corner "I'm done" ? #UFC224 pic.twitter.com/wU52xiCaLE
— #UFCChile: Maia vs. Usman on BT Sport (@btsportufc) May 13, 2018
After the fight, Nunes was highly critical of Pennigton's corner:
It's sad because you could avoid something. She went to the hospital. It might be a bad injury. ... It's sad. If she didn't have the right conditioning to fight, the coach should have thrown in the towel for sure. I think my coach wouldn't have let me go through that.
It's sad. ... I think she really needs to surround herself with people that want the best for her so she can evolve in her next fight. Unfortunately, tonight he failed.
There was an outpouring of anger from fighters in response:
Coaches should throw that towel...sad
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) May 13, 2018
I’m at a bar, I did NOT get to hear that! That’s insane and shitty. https://t.co/n5hWtGPeOZ
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 13, 2018
This the kind of shit I was talking about on #JRE this MMA cornering is out of control.She asked for a way out and they make her go get beat
— Kevin Lee MTP (@MoTownPhenom) May 13, 2018
