‘What a joke’ – MMA fighter left fuming after controversial KO in $100,000 bout at PFL Lyon
British bantamweight Dean Garnett was left outraged after losing his $100,000 fight at PFL Lyon.
Garnett suffered a 44-second knockout defeat to France’s Barius Adiguzel on Saturday night.
However, the stoppage didn’t come without controversy, and some fans are even claiming the Liverpudlian was ‘robbed.’
Having won two fights in 2025 as part of the PFL Europe bantamweight tournament, Garnett qualified for the final in Lyon.
The 37-year-old was full of confidence heading into the bout and hoped to utilise his 18-fight professional experience in the SmartCage to get the better of Adiguzel.
But just 40 seconds into the first round of his fight with the Frenchman, Garnett was rocked and looked to be in serious trouble.
Adiguzel followed up with several more ferocious left hands before a right sent Garnett to the canvas.
As Garnett dropped to the floor, he reached for a single leg takedown, but referee Dan Movahedi had already stopped the fight.
Garnett held on to his opponent’s leg, thinking the fight was still going on.
He immediately turned to Movahedi to protest the stoppage, and was not a happy man when giving his reaction after the fight.
Dean Garnett: PFL Lyon stoppage was a joke
“I don’t know what to say there,” a disappointed Garnett, who had Muhammad Mokaev in his corner on the night, said on Instagram.
“That’s not how I wanna lose. I wanna go out on my shield, mate.
“I think the ref got well ahead of himself there. Fair play to Adiguzel, it was not on him, but what the f*** was that f***ing hell?
“Let me fight, I’m here to work… that’s a piss take. I was nowhere near out.
“I even landed the single leg. F***ing hell, what a joke.”
Some fans were also in agreement with Garnett in their reactions to the fight.
One fan said on X: “Yeah, that was bad. One of the worst I’ve seen. Gutted to see it happen to such a tough scrapper like Dean Garnett, too.”
Another added: “Dean Garnett was stung, but he wasn’t done.”
A third wrote: “Wow, PFL just robbed Dean Garnett… got hurt bad but was never out and grabbed an ankle immediately.”
Another fan said: “Kinda feel even without $100k on the line you gotta let Garnett get a rematch.”
Garnett, who founded Aspire Combat Sports Academy MMA gym in Liverpool, is now 14-4-1 in his career, having made his pro debut in December 2010.
Fellow Liverpudlian Connor Hughes was also knocked out in the final of his lightweight tournament at PFL Lyon.
Adiguzel said he was overcome with emotion after his win over Garnett, but admitted he ‘felt sorry’ for the British fighter.
“I trained hard for two months, I spent money and I gave everything for my wife,” he said before calling out Gustavo Oliveira, who also scored a KO win at PFL Lyon.
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