'You robbed me': UFC fighter fumes after controversial stoppage

Beaten fighter Michael Chiesa has slammed referee Mario Yamasaki after a controversial finish at UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma City.

Chiesa lost to Kevin Lee via submission with 23 seconds remaining in the first round but it came with a mistake by the ref.

Chiesa had not tapped and was still awake, trying to figure a way to escape from the submission. Yamasaki stopped it despite the fact that it was clear that Chiesa did not tap and he was not out.

The 29-year-old immediately got up and protested, but the verdict stood. It robbed Chiesa of a potentially dramatic comeback, but Yamasaki’s call also took away from Lee’s outstanding performance.

"The second I saw him coming in to break it up I instantly knew. The guy has a reputation for poor officiating," Chiesa told Fox Sports.

"I'm not disappointed in myself for how I reacted like a poor sport ... not only did you rob me of an opportunity, you rob the fans of a great main event.

Watch Chiesa's frustrated interview:

"You rob Kevin. I mean, Kevin got a win over me and there's not many people who have done that, but it's really not a win. It's just surrounded in controversy ... You robbed me."

Chiesa went on to say they will take it to the commission in a bid to have the result overturned ahead of a rematch.

The fighters embraced after the bout, ending a heated rivalry that began when they got into a verbal altercation at a kick-off news conference that turned physical.

Chiesa got angry when Lee mentioned his mother, and left his seat and walked toward Lee. As security and UFC officials attempted to separate them, Lee got in a hard punch.

Watch Lee's hilarious reaction:

Over the last several months, the two talked quite a bit of trash to each other in what was a significant fight in the lightweight division.

Lee continued that line when he was asked by Fox Sports whether he felt robbed by Yamasaki's early finish.

"I was robbed by Mike, I thought he was going to put up a better fight," he said.

"I trained hard for this fight, I trained like (it was) a championship fight. I thought it was going to go all five rounds."

withYahoo Sports Cagewriter