Dean Garnett reacted in disbelief after he suffered defeat by Baris Adiguzel in the PFL Europe bantamweight final when the referee appeared to stop the fight prematurely.
With Liverpool’s Garnett momentarily hurt after a flurry of strikes at the LDLC Arena in Lyon, referee Dan Movahedi waved off the contest after only 44 seconds as he attempted a takedown.
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The 37-year-old showed his disillusionment at the decision as he reacted furiously.
“What are you doing lad?” Garnett told the official.
As France’s Adiguzel had his arm raised and was handed the title and cheque for $100,000 (£75,000), the Briton shook his head and laughed in bewilderment.
“That’s not how I want to lose, I want to go out on my shield. I think the ref got well overzealous there and jumped in,” Garnett added on his Instagram after the bout.
“I felt the body shot, it was a nice shot to the body. Fair play to Baris, it’s not on him, but what was that?”
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Garnett had described the bout as the biggest of his 19-fight career, both professionally and financially, before the contest.
But he will feel he was not given a fair chance by referee Movahedi to show what he can do.
Garnett was stunned by Adiguzel’s right hand to the temple, but instantly showed signs of recovery as he shot for a single-leg takedown.
The referee did not give Garnett time to complete the move, however, as he stepped in to end the fight.
“Let me fight, I’m here to work. What a joke. Thank you for all the support but that’s not how you want to go out,” said Garnett.
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“That’s not good enough by the referee, I deserve better.”
In the lightweight final, fellow Briton Connor Hughes also suffered defeat as he was knocked out by Latvia’s Aleksandr Chizov in the third round.
The 28-year-old Hughes was competing in the final for the second successive year after losing to Jakub Kaszuba in 2024, but he came up short once again.
After two competitive rounds which saw both fighters land sharp combinations, Chizov struck the decisive blow with a huge straight right hand.
With Hughes flat on his back, the referee stopped the contest, earning Chizov the biggest win of his 16-fight career.
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Earlier on the card, Wales’ Levi Batchelor suffered a split decision defeat by Rayan Balbali, while Britain’s Liam Gittens lost to Taylor Lapilus in a unanimous decision.