DETROIT – A controversial stoppage has triggered an immediate rematch between Abdul Razak Alhassan and Sabah Homasi.

UFC President Dana White confirmed at the post-fight press conference for UFC 218 that the welterweights have a spot on UFC 219, which takes place Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Alhassan (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was declared the winner via first-round TKO when he appeared to drop Homasi (11-7 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a punch late in the first round of their UFC Fight Pass-streamed prelim on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Homasi’s body appeared to go slack after the punch. But replays showed the blow was not serious, and Homasi immediately popped up to protest the stoppage and declare he had been shooting for a takedown when referee Herb Dean called off the fight. The decision was widely booed by the crowd.

UFC commentators announced at the start of the event that limited instant replay was available, but that the bout could not be restarted once it had been waved off.

Alhassan apologized to the crowd and commended Homasi for a good fight. Now, they’ll run it back for a more decisive result.

Homasi will then seek his first official UFC win. The first-round TKO on Saturday marked his second consecutive defeat in the octagon, while Alhassan got back in the win column after a split-decision loss to Omari Akhmedov in May.

For complete coverage of UFC 218, check out the UFC Events section of the site.