'One of the worst' - Dana White slams late stoppage in UFC co-main event

Dana White has branded the controversial stoppage in UFC Austin's co-main event as 'one of the worst' he's ever seen.

Jalin Turner defeated Bobby Green in a first-round knockout victory on Saturday, with referee Kerry Hatley heavily criticised for a late stoppage.

After dropping Green with a right hand, Turner unloaded blows on his opponent for more than 10 seconds before referee Hatley intervened.

The event is the promotion's first and only visit to Austin this year.

The bout was originally scheduled to be between Green and Dan Hooker, but the latter pulled out last week with a broken arm.

Turner replaced him and made no mistake in dropping Green quickly.

Despite acknowledging the error, White held back in criticising Hatley too much because the referee admitted his mistake.

"One of the worst I've ever seen", White said, as per MMA fighting.

"The difference is we've had some refs say some dumb things in the past like, 'Oh I allowed her to be a warrior tonight'.

"He (Hatley) knows that he made a mistake tonight and does not feel good about it. So it's unfortunate.

"Definitely a bad stoppage, very bad."

White wasn't the only one outraged by the decision-making of the referee with many fighters calling Hatley out.

UFC featherweight Sodiq Yusuff posted on social media: "That insane man. I’ve never been actually mad at a ref before. Someone could die of s*** like that."

Turner was baffled by Hatley's indecision in the finishing sequence but he wasn't too critical of him.

“I was like, maybe this should be stopped, maybe not, and I’m not going to stop until you pull me off because it’s him or me, and he would’ve gotten his bearings about him, he could’ve gotten back on top or something crazy.

"So it is what it is. He was healthy, he was coherent, he was good after, we had good words, so I’m happy he was in good health, decent health. So it is what it is."