Dana White had no major issue with the controversial stoppage in Ryan Garcia\u2019s successful title defense against Conor Benn.<\/p>\n
Garcia demolished Benn in less than five minutes in the main event of Zuffa Boxing<\/a> last night (Sat., Sept. 12, 2026), scoring a second-round technical knockout inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n After a competitive opening frame, \u201cKing Ryan\u201d caught Benn charging forward with a perfectly timed right hand early in Round 2, sending the British challenger crashing to the canvas. Benn beat the referee\u2019s count but remained badly hurt as Garcia swarmed him with punches.<\/p>\n Benn covered up and attempted to weather the storm, but referee Tom Taylor stepped between the fighters and waved off the Welterweight title fight at the 1:25 mark. The stoppage immediately drew mixed reactions because Benn was still standing and appeared to be intelligently defending himself\u2014even if he wasn\u2019t offering much offense in return.<\/p>\n During the post-fight press conference, White admitted Taylor may have intervened slightly early but defended the referee\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n In other words, White didn\u2019t appear interested in blaming Taylor for protecting a fighter who had just suffered a brutal knockdown and was eating unanswered punches.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting Benn didn\u2019t protest the stoppage.<\/p>\n The victory marked Garcia\u2019s first successful defense of his World Boxing Council (WBC) Welterweight title and improved his professional record to 26-2 (1 NC). It was also his first stoppage victory since knocking out Oscar Duarte in Dec. 2023.<\/p>\n Benn, meanwhile, suffered the first knockout loss of his professional career and fell to 25-2. Whether Taylor stepped in a few punches too early will remain up for debate, but Garcia appeared well on his way to closing the show regardless.<\/p>\n