Connect with us

MMA

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MMA

Morning Report: Eddie Hearn again denies Dana White’s involvement in Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

Published

on

Morning Report: Eddie Hearn again denies Dana White’s involvement in Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua is ACTUALLY HAPPENING on Dec. 11 and while the Eddie-Dana beef has taken up plenty of oxygen, we're still about to see two of the best and most popular heavyweights of this generation finally throw down.

So I'm curious, with the bout less than two months away, how hyped are we for Fury vs. Joshua? Is it too little too late or is this the perfect time for two legends who have done it all to settle their beef?

What's your excitement level right now?

Continue Reading

MMA

Merab Dvalishvili calls himself a decision machine before Yan trilogy

Published

on

Merab Dvalishvili calls himself a 'decision machine' before Yan trilogy
Merab
Dvalishvili can joke about his low finishing rate in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Dvalishvili is scheduled to challenge Petr Yan for
the bantamweight title in a trilogy bout at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. When a fan
recently asked him to predict the outcome, the former champion
jokingly suggested another decision victory.

Merab Dvalishvili jokes about his decision-heavy record ahead
of Petr Yan title fight at UFC 333

Dvalishvili is known for his relentless pressure and wrestling,
with 16 of his 21 career victories coming by decision. The Georgian
has recorded two finishes in the UFC: a technical knockout of
Marlon
Moraes in 2021 and a submission of Sean
O’Malley in his second title defense last year.

Asked how he would beat Yan, Dvalishvili described himself as a
“decision machine.â€

“There are three ways to win: knockout, submission, or decision,â€
Dvalishvili said in a brief
interview. “I’m a decision machine.â€

Continue Reading

MMA

10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style

Published

on

10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style
Movsar
Evloev rejects the notion that fans only want bloody
fights.

Evloev is scheduled to challenge Alexander
Volkanovski for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Russian
challenger has won all 10 of his UFC bouts by decision but believes
fans appreciate his fighting style.

Movsar Evloev argues wrestling can entertain UFC fans ahead of
Volkanovski title fight

The recent departures of Michael
Page and Farid
Basharat have fueled debate about whether winning is enough to
secure a new UFC contract. Neither fighter was re-signed despite a
winning streak, though a lack of finishes has not been established
as the reason for either departure.

Evloev believes finishes are not the only measure of a fighter's
value. He says fans also appreciate tactics, skill and
wrestling.

“I have zero finishes in UFC, but I'm still in the UFC and I'm
fighting for the title,†Evloev told MMA Fighting. “That means only
finishes are not important. To show a good fight is also important.
If you have no finish, you can still show a good fight, an exciting
fight; you can show the beauty of wrestling. There are not just
fans of MMA who just wait for blood. There are so many good fans
who know MMA, and they understand, and maybe because of them I'm
still in the UFC.â€

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending