AUSTIN TEXAS: The much-anticipated bout between Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 294 came to a halt after the first round, igniting controversy in the world of mixed martial arts.

Some of the biggest names in mixed martial arts, such as Joe Rogan and Conor McGregor, quickly responded to the controversy.

Joe Rogan reacts to Johnny Walker vs Magomed Ankalaev fight's controversial end

In the first round of the Walker vs Ankalaev match, Ankalaev swiftly delivered a knee to Walker's chin, prompting the referee to intervene immediately and call for a timeout.

As Walker was recovering from his knee injury, a physician entered the ring. Soon after, the physician engaged in a conversation with the referee.

The officials chose to end the fight before anyone could make sense of it.

Joe Rogan, who witnessed the fight, had some peculiar reactions to it. The renowned podcaster also deemed the knee strike as illegal, saying, “Oh! He just hit him with an illegal knee. He is okay though. It was a hard knee. That is on the jaw.”

Moreover, Rogan expressed dissatisfaction with the UFC's decision to stop the fight. The 56-year-old argued that Johnny Walker should have been allowed to continue the bout.

“Are they calling the fight off? I don’t understand,” he remarked.

“He got hit with an illegal shot and he wants to keep going. Let it go, this is where formalities and all this stuff make no sense. This is stupid, let them fight,” he continued.

Conor McGregor responds to UFC 294 fight between Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalaev

UFC superstar Conor McGregor watched UFC 294 from his home and shared a photo of his young son enjoying the exciting PPV event.

The Walker vs Ankalaev fight concluded, and during the event, McGregor posted a tweet on X, which he later deleted. The tweet said, "Get it going lads, we love a brawl hahaha."

The former UFC champion was eagerly anticipating this matchup.

However, due to an unfortunate outcome, fans are now uncertain about the result of the Walker vs Magomed fight.