Controversial finish leads to immediate welterweight rematch at UFC 218
A rematch between welterweights Sabah Homasi and Abdul Razak Alhassan is set for UFC 219 at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 30.
Alhassan was awarded a controversial first-round knockout victory over Homasi on Saturday night on the UFC 218 card in Detroit when referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight after Homasi had dropped to the ground following a strike.
Replays appeared to show Homasi, who immediately jumped to his feet to protest, was working for a single-leg takedown.
UFC president Dana White said after the event a rematch would be booked for the organization’s year-end show and UFC officials confirmed to the Review-Journal on Tuesday the bout is now set.
Alhassan’s disputed victory came after he had suffered the first loss of his career when he dropped a split decision to Omari Akhmedov in May.
It marked the second-consecutive loss for Homasi, who previously dropped his UFC debut in August 2016 when he was knocked out by Tim Means.
UFC 219 is headlined by a women’s featherweight title bout between former bantamweight champion Holly Holm and current 145-pound champ Cris “Cyborg” Justino.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
