Krzysztof Soszynski victorious over Stephan Bonnar, by headbutt?

In the UFC's first-ever trip to Australia, the UFC 110's final preliminary card matchup ended in a bit of controversy as Krzysztof Soszynski was awarded a TKO win by opening up a deep cut on the face of opponent Stephan Bonnar via accidental headbutt.


The unfortunate ending to the matchup put a slight damper on what had otherwise been an exciting night of preliminary action at Sydney's Acer Arena prior to the evening's pay-per-view broadcast main card.


Soszynski opened the fight as the aggressor, and a few flurries found their mark for "The Polish Experiement." Bonnar was bleeding early, but he continued to press, as usual.


The second round was better for Bonnar, and he found his range with punches from the feet while also doing damage with elbows inside. The fight appeared to be destined for a memorable third round after some back-and-forth action in the first two frames.


Then it happened.

Early on in the final round, the two fighters clinched after a takedown attempt, and blood began to gush from the head of Bonnar. The bout was smartly halted for observation of the wound, and the damage forced the fight to be waived off. A TKO result was awarded, though replays clearly showed that the laceration had come as a result of an accidental head butt.


Soszynski (19-9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) may have been on his way to a win, anyway, though he probably hoped for a more convincing victory en route to his current 4-1 record in the octagon.


Meanwhile, Bonnar has now dropped three-straight contests, though UFC president Dana White has often said "The American Psycho" will always have a home in the UFC.




"I want to finish the fight, man," Bonnar said. "It was only a few minutes left, right?"



Bonnar and Soszynski had engaged in two tightly contested rounds when an early exchange in the final frame saw the fighters clash heads. A gaping wound opened up on Bonnar's forehead, and referee John Sharp halted the contest on the advice of the cageside physician.



"It was a headbutt, and you know what the worst part is?" Bonnar asked in the post-fight press conference. "Take a close-up on this head. This cut is actually shaped like a 'K' for Krzysztof, so I now I've got to walk around with a scar in the shape of a 'K' on it.


"So yeah, I'm pissed off."


The bout was ruled a TKO as Sharp incorrectly determined that the laceration was caused from a legal strike.


An appeal to the New South Wales Combat Sports Authority could result in a different ruling for Bonnar, as an inadvertent foul in the final round that leads directly to the end of the bout should be decided by the judges' scores through two rounds.


But Bonnar is more interested in an outcome decided in the cage.


"Would love a rematch," Bonnar said.


For his part, after being granted a dubious win, Soszynski said he's more than willing to revisit the matchup.


"I agree with Stephan," Soszynski said. "If the UFC wants it and the fans want it, I think we should finish what we started."