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Missed Fists | ‘What the hell was this ref thinking?’: Pros react to referee freezing during brutal knockout beatdown

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Missed Fists | ‘What the hell was this ref thinking?’: Pros react to referee freezing during brutal knockout beatdown

Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists where we shine a light on fights from across the globe that may have been overlooked in these hectic times where it seems like there's an MMA show every other day.

Herb Dean has justifiably been taking a lot of guff lately, to the point that we've all wondered several times over the past few years why he's still officiating fights, much less important fights for major promotions.

Well, it could be because the alternatives are grim.

(Big thanks as always to @Barrelelapierna for their weekly lists of the best KOs, and to @Grabaka_Hitman for uploading many of the clips you see here. Give them a follow and chip in on Patreon if you can.)

Byron Wilson vs. Skyler King

Admittedly, you've got to dig deep to find a referee worse than Hokey Pokey Herb (h/t Mike Heck). Our search takes us to the great state of Georgia, where referee Nate Mann might have actually dissociated during the main event of National Fighting Championship 191.

Byron Wilson was absolutely wailing on Skyler King, so Mann could have stepped in at any moment during that onslaught; instead, he barely moved even after Wilson walked off assuming the fight was over since King was hardly defending himself. Of course, fighters shouldn't waive off their own fights, but I'm not going to blame Wilson for not wanting to do any more unnecessary damage.

After the most awkward of pauses, Wilson went right back in and clobbered King with a hard punch (OK, maybe he wanted to do a little more unnecessary damage), which finally snapped Mann back to reality as he moved to stop the fight.

Making this scene even worse, Wilson and King are essentially amateurs, with Wilson fighting for just the second time as a pro and King making his debut. You've got to protect these guys, come on, Mann.

I'm not alone in this as several pros reacted to the clip in the comments.

Chris Weidman: What the hell was this ref thinking?

Jason Miller: NPC REFEREE

Eryk Anders: Ref trippin

Shane Burgos: Refs need to be held accountable for shit like this

King himself even jumped into the comments to question the referee's judgment:

As the guy who took the shot: not really sure how the ref didn't realize I wasn't fighting back when the opponent walked away. I assumed the fight was over because otherwise why would the shots stop?? There was more than enough time to tell that I wasn't getting back into the action

Turpal Khamzayev vs. Angelo Pettis
Miguel Sanson vs. Mefi Monterroso
Josue Sotero vs. Ronnie Gibbs

As plenty of athletes will tell you, it's hard carrying a famous name, and that's just as true in combat sports.

Ladies and gentlemen, here's Angelo Pettis.

Being the cousin of MMA champions Anthony and Sergio is always going to bring plenty of expectations, especially when you consider how they both excelled at a young age, and it's been a tough go for the 21-year-old Angelo so far. In his second pro fight, he was submitted by Gage Mitchell, and this past Sunday he suffered his first knockout loss after taking some brutal kicks from Turpal Khamzayev.

That's a fantastic finish by Khamzayev, who chopped Angelo down before ending it with a flashy spinning wheel kick that the Pettis family should appreciate.

Fortunately for Angelo, he might not have been the worst knockout victim of the night, as Miguel Sanson caught Mefi Monterroso with a savage knee with Monterroso trying to stand up from the mat.

Josue Sotero topped both of those efforts, needing just 22 seconds to put Ronnie Gibbs away with a slick heel hook.

The 24-year-old Sotero improved to 5-0, with three of his wins coming in under a minute.

Anthony Pettis FC 24 is available to stream on UFC Fight Pass.

Damien Deleon vs. Terrell Nixon
Jeremiah Delgado vs. Vincenzo Iannuzzo
Jarrod St. Jean vs. Alius Delarosa

We have a few more Fight Pass goodies, starting with Damien Deleon scoring a ridiculous 11-second head kick knockout over Terrell Nixon on the Fury FC postliminary fights.

Over at CFFC 159, Jeremiah Delgado landed an even better head kick knockout against Vincenzo Iannuzzo.

Started celebrating before Iannuzzo's body even hit the canvas.

Jarrod St. Jean might have a future as a psychic because he perfectly slipped a short hook from Alius Delarosa while simultaneously landing a counter on the money.

Tater McSpadden vs. Fred Freeman

If St. Jean is psychic, Tater McSpadden might be a magician because he showed some serious sleight of hand (er, knee) at an Xtreme Fight Night event in Tulsa, Okla.

Had to watch that one multiple times to see where he slipped in the knee, but it's there, and it was more than enough to stun Fred Freeman and leave him open to some fight-ending hellbows.

Lucas Alfaro vs. Francisco Pepa

At Concordia Fight Night 8 in Argentina, Lucas Alfaro sent Francisco Pepa on a one-way trip to Buenos Aires with a limb-lifting spin kick.

Dude flew, like, two-thirds of the cage on that one.

Marsel Nurlanbek vs. Ermek Nuranov

Let's end on a nightmarish note.

I've often wondered what it would look like if someone didn't tap to a Suloev stretch fast enough and thanks to Octagon League's Marsel Nurlanbek, I have my answer.

Wish I hadn't found out. But I did and now you have, too.

Octagon League 90 is available for free replay on YouTube.

If you know of a recent fight or event that you think may have been overlooked, or a promotion that could use some attention, please let us know on X — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.

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MMA

Payton Talbott says he ‘reinvented’ himself ahead of UFC 332

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Payton Talbott says he ‘reinvented’ himself ahead of UFC 332
Payton
Talbott believes he has become a more complete fighter during
his Octagon hiatus.

Talbott defeated former
Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division titleholder
Henry
Cejudo in his most recent outing in December. The bantamweight
prospect returns to action at UFC
332 on Oct. 3 after spending much of the year focused on
training while waiting for his next fight.

Payton Talbott explains what changed before facing Deiveson
Figueiredo

Talbott, who faces former flyweight champion Deiveson
Figueiredo on Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, said
the extended time spent working on his game allowed him to reinvent
aspects of his fighting style.

“Yeah, it was kind of weird,†Talbott told the UFC when asked about
his nine-month hiatus. “This is all still new to me, so I tried to
just stay training and just stay ready. I mean, I trained pretty
much the whole year, and I feel like I kind of reinvented myself a
little bit and went back to my roots, went inward.â€

Talbott explained that his evolution has involved collecting
techniques and lessons while making sure he doesn't lose the
qualities that made him successful in the first place.

“You go and train out of town, and you pick people’s brains and
sometimes you take things from them and implement them into your
game,†Talbott added. “But a lot of the times, the reason you got
where you are is because of you. And so, you just have to correctly
learn how to implement it and not let it fully change you, but just
use the best of what you learn.â€

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MMA

Ateba Gautier has blunt advice for fighters who want to ‘look pretty’

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Ateba Gautier has blunt advice for fighters who want to ‘look pretty’
Ateba
Abega Gautier wears his battle scars with pride.

Gautier is scheduled to face Roman
Kopylov (15-5) in an
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight bout at UFC
332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The rising
contender understands that physical damage comes with the territory
in combat sports.

Ateba Gautier embraces his battle scars before facing Roman
Kopylov at UFC 332

The Cameroonian believes those concerned with preserving their
appearance might want to reconsider a career in combat sports.
Gautier considers the scars on his face badges of honor.

“Don't fight if you want to stay clean,†Gautier told the UFC. “If
you want to look pretty, don't fight. Because there's always
someone in front of you who wants to look dirty. And he wants you
to look dirty as well. So, I'm not there to look clean. I have
scars on my eyebrows. These are gold… I'll never get rid of them.
So, why are you fighting? To be a model? No, I didn't choose to be
a model. I chose to be a fighter.â€

Gautier (11-1) has finished four of his five UFC opponents so far,
three of them in the first round. Meanwhile, Kopylov is 7-5 in the
UFC and has shared the Octagon with several established
middleweights. The Russian is coming off a victory over Marco
Tulio, rebounding from consecutive losses to Paulo Costa
and Gregory
Rodrigues.

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MMA

Natalia Silva went from sleeping in UFC gym to fighting for gold

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Natalia Silva went from sleeping in UFC gym to fighting for gold
Natalia
Silva never stopped believing in herself, even when she
considered walking away from mixed martial arts.

Silva (20-5) is scheduled to face Cong Wang
(10-1) for the vacant
Ultimate Fighting Championship women's flyweight title at
UFC
332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Ahead of her
championship bout, Silva reflected on her journey to title
contention and the hardships she has overcome.

Natalia Silva recalls living at her gym before earning UFC 332
title shot

Silva credits her perseverance and belief in herself with helping
her overcome hardships throughout her career. She recently revealed
that she once lived at her gym and slept on a physical therapy bed.
The Brazilian admitted there were several occasions when she
considered quitting mixed martial arts but credits her faith and
the people around her with helping her continue.

“I think what brought me here was believing in myself and never
quitting and continuing regardless of what happens,†Silva told the
UFC. “No matter what I did in my life and what I was able to
accomplish, it was always a very tough journey. I have gone through
a lot of challenges. There were moments that I had to live in the
gym. I actually lived in the physical therapy room; I slept in a PT
bed for a while. Things were never easy. And in many moments, I
thought of giving up, of quitting… Always, God has strengthened me,
surrounded me with people with a kind word for me.â€

Silva is undefeated in eight UFC appearances, with her last three
victories coming against Jessica
Andrade, Alexa
Grasso and Rose
Namajunas. Meanwhile, Wang is riding a four-fight winning
streak and is coming off a victory over Tracy
Cortez.

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