Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes officials got it wrong in the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven super fight.

Former GLORY Kickboxing heavyweight champ Rico Verhoeven was minutes away from shocking the world and handing WBC heavyweight boxing titleholder Oleksandr Usyk a stunning loss in the ring last weekend. Verhoeven looked poised and crisp through the first 10 rounds of the fight, with many believing he won most of the early action.

As the bell rang to conclude Round 11, though, controversy ensued as Usyk was awarded a TKO stoppage win. This left fans angry with the referee’s decision to stop the fight, despite the knockout blows coming after the bell had rang.

Longtime combat sports analyst Joe Rogan was one such fan who believes Verhoeven should’ve gotten the nod on the scorecards, despite the judges all scoring the fight in Usyk’s favor leading up to the stoppage.

Joe Rogan had Rico Verhoeven up convincingly on scorecards before stoppage

In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan weighed in on the controversial end to the fight.

“That’s the robbery,” Rogan said of Usyk vs. Verhoeven. “If that’s the case (that Usyk was winning), that’s a robbery.

“Bro, he was winning 8-2 in my eyes. I thought he was winning 8-2 going into the eleventh round when the fight was stopped. The fight shouldn’t have been stopped the way it was stopped. Rico’s moving, he’s covering up. What is he supposed to do? That’s a bad stoppage. One second! It’s literally the end of the round. I think he actually stops it when the round is over.

“Whoever was judging the Usyk fight was incompetent. Those people are ridiculous. The fact they didn’t have Rico ahead is crazy.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)

Verhoeven has repeatedly protested the stoppage in post-fight media interviews, although it’s uncertain if he and Usyk will run it back later this year. In the meantime, Rogan believes Verhoeven was ‘robbed’, but not in the way most fans expressed.

What did you think of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven? Let us know in the comments![/