ACB 54 took place in Manchester on Saturday night, and there were a number of familiar faces on show for UFC fans, and The Ultimate Fighter fans in particular.
Aside from Luke Barnatt in the main event, two former UFC fighters in Nam Phan and Rob Whiteford met for a clash that did not last very long, and unfortunately ended in a manner that left a bad taste in the mouth of many watching at home.
The fight was ended after just 21 seconds as Scotland's Whiteford sunk in a standing guillotine choke for which Phan had no answer, but the referee did not step in at all, and instead we knew the fight was over as Phan's limb body was tossed to the ground.
The referee really should have checked on Nam Phan earlier and put a stop to the fight.
#ACB54 - Rob Whiteford quick front guillotine (vs.Nam Phan ) R1 21s. Excellent! pic.twitter.com/bly4gBQvEn
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) March 11, 2017
Ugly stuff. With a choke that deep, much closer inspection is needed as Phan was probably out before he had the thought to tap and needed the ref to call a stop to the fight.
With a UFC event in Glasgow on the horizon, a return to the big show is not out of the question for Whiteford after that emphatic win, but it's a shame that the gloss was somewhat taken off of it.
