Big John McCarthy weighs in on Askren-Lawler stoppage

[ScoopSubMMA]

Lawler hit a pro wrestling finishing move on Ben, and Ben is supposed to be the best wrestler ever in MMA?

 

[fightfan84]

I just disagree. Pulling the head that direction in that bulldog position could absolutely pull Robbie's hand forward.

I'm not saying I know 100% he was out but looked like it to me. That said if he was, he woke back up for sure by the time Herb checked on him.

Your reaching now man lol .Robbie repositioning his hand responding to the refs arm grab and giving the thumbs up. Connect the dots dude . The videos are out there now.

 

[Exemplar]

Big John is 2 for 2 on critiques of recent bad officiating. /salute

 

[TheBulletwithWings]

Robbie was out, somebody post the gif.

You mean the gif that is cut right before he gives a thumbs up?

 

[TheBulletwithWings]

That was another case where the ref thought the fighter was out and flat out made a mistake. I am 'over it' in the same sense that Robbie is, we both agree (along with herb) that it was a bad stoppage. End of story.

Whether or not you think Robbie would have got out given the chance is irrelevant.

And that’s the FINAL SAY on this topic!

 

[Timurd123]

Askren has very few fans

Most of the guys on here “supporting” him are trolling you bro, don’t feed them

 

[Oogie Sharp]

Watched the fight.. I don't think Robbie was out..just my opinion. Just disappointed it ended that way. I like them both really. An exciting as hell fight while it lasted. Looking forward to both of their next fights. It's an exciting division.

 

[IsNormal]

Robbie did give the thumbs up.

But I don't see him getting out of the choke.
I believe the Gracies when they say they think he would've been gone a few seconds later, since the bulldog choke is that powerful.

So yeah, the stoppage was early. But it didn't matter.

 

[JRubin]

lol. It is exactly like that. The ref is checking to see if the fighter responds. Robbie did. Clearly. Immediately. Herb didn’t focus on his response.

Again there’s literally no argument. Herb acknowledged he just missed it. He knew he fucked up. He wouldn’t have stopped it.

I'm not really sure what point your trying to make, everyone is in agreement it was a bad call. Your not making a very convincing argument as to why it warrants a rematch though.

Robbie was still caught in a choke, and didnt give any reason to believe he was gonna get out.

Like I said, if we could run it back and have Herb make the right call, but to just rematch is unfair to Ben, because Ben had him in a fight ending submission, and your just making him pay the price for Herb's fuck up

 

[The6 mma]

But did Big John watch the Gracie Breakdown blah blah blah, these askren nut huggers are annoying as hell

 

[7th]

You mean the gif that is cut right before he gives a thumbs up?

So because you see a thumb on a hand, it's a thumbs up? Lawler merely reached for Askren, then set his hand back down.

 

[Hardkore]

Big John is overrated as a ref

Perhaps but he's still one of the best

 

[NorrisB]

It IS possible Lawler went out then came back real quick. That arm drop is pretty suspect.

With that being said, he did give a thumbs up.

This is a tricky situation, one of the trickiest ive seen.

For those of us who are unbiased, its not really clear if it was the right call or not.

What should be clear is Robbie did a poor job communicating to Herb

 

[fightfan84]

Robbie did give the thumbs up.

But I don't see him getting out of the choke.
I believe the Gracies when they say they think he would've been gone a few seconds later, since the bulldog choke is that powerful.

So yeah, the stoppage was early. But it didn't matter.

So what your saying is for now on moving forward. If a fighter gets a choke the ref has the right to just stop it right in that moment because odds are they won't fight it off regardless. No more tapping needed no more going to sleep needed .

 

[fightfan84]

I'm not really sure what point your trying to make, everyone is in agreement it was a bad call. Your not making a very convincing argument as to why it warrants a rematch though.

Robbie was still caught in a choke, and didnt give any reason to believe he was gonna get out.

Like I said, if we could run it back and have Herb make the right call, but to just rematch is unfair to Ben, because Ben had him in a fight ending submission, and your just making him pay the price for Herb's fuck up

You have zero idea if it was a fight ending submission. Zero just a guess. Your guess doesn't negate what could have happened. Robbie was convinced he was getting out. He was in the fight .

 

[fightfan84]

What should be clear is Robbie did a poor job communicating to Herb

He actually did an amazing job. His focus is on the choke at that point. Without sleeping or tapping he doesn't need to focus on the ref. When the ref grabbed his wrist and lifted up that's when he responded he was awake. That's the only thing that matters. Ref to blame not the fighter

 

[bigconan]

I agree.

And you don't fake limp arm unless you're stuck in the choke, so I highly doubt Robbie would've got out of it.​

what i find funny, are the guys saying askren's arms would have tired...a guy that has literally been wrestling his entire life...when I asked, do you think damien maia's arms would tire? no..he could hold a choke all dam day long..cause he's been doing that for years and years...his muscles have built up a tremendous amount of endurance...askren is the same way..the guys arms are not going to tire...he would have kept that choke on the entire round and be ready to go the next round, if lawler wasn't choked out.

 

[SpongeJoshSquareCheck]

Big John MMA Referee GOAT

 

[illegalnature]

Regardless if it was pre mature or not, theres not a single person saying Robbie wasnt out who would bet their life that he was going to survive the round if it wasn't stopped.

You can lie to yourselves all you want but fact is askren won, robbie lost and if the fight wasnt stopped when it was askren would have snapped that dudes neck or popped his fucking head off lol was anyone looking at the clock? Do you guys have any idea how long robbie would have had to last in that brutal choke? He would have tapped or went out in the next 15 seconds no doubt. He has ass loads of time to really sink that shit in and crank crank crank

 

[fightfan84]

what i find funny, are the guys saying askren's arms would have tired...a guy that has literally been wrestling his entire life...when I asked, do you think damien maia's arms would tire? no..he could hold a choke all dam day long..cause he's been doing that for years and years...his muscles have built up a tremendous amount of endurance...askren is the same way..the guys arms are not going to tire...he would have kept that choke on the entire round and be ready to go the next round, if lawler wasn't choked out.

The issue is because of an error we will never know. To assume the assault he took in the beginning of the round did play a part in how his endurance and strength would be is also a joke. Ppl love to point out his strength and abalilities but leave out the tremendous beating he took before it .