Probably won't be a popular opinion on here, but while some shots were under Kov's belt, i felt like his trunks were high (at his navel) and Andre landed legal shots. Don't know how many on this forum competed, but you can tell when an individual breaks mentally. Kov was showing signs leading up to the eighth that he was starting to break, and that big right pushed him over the edge.

Best thing that happened to Kov was that it was stopped at that point, because it saved him from an extended beating, gave him an excuse for his ego, and didn't levy the additional mental effects of being knocked out cold or made to overtly quit. Ward knew Kov would break mentally and forced him to fight at an uncomfortable pace. Ward was stopping Kov that night no matter what Kov did in there.