Media "I might be dead right now"

That was one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen in MMA....but at the same time he did let that guy be a warrior, so I'm not sure how to feel.
 
I don't get why you can't have another ref or two, be the ring side ref, who are watching live video and with replays, to check erroneous fouls or instances like this. So these ringside refs can 'throw in the towel' or something to let the ref in the cage know to pause the fight or stop it.

As bad as the ref was, whats up with dudes corner men? Did they not think their guy was out? I think everyone and their mother knew the dude was out, so why didn't they try to get the ref to stop it? Or did they?
 
Yep, was a pretty egregious one. They don't happen often this bad, but it's always ugly when they do.
 
Crazy Librarian said:




full article: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/4/...ng-referee-mistake-that-shocked-the-mma-world


By now, you have probably seen this clip from the Fury FC 76 main event on March 24, where Edgar Chairez submitted Gianni Vazquez in the fourth round, and referee Frank Colazzo watched on as multiple people screamed at him that Vazquez was unconscious due to the initial triangle, before transitioning to a horrific armbar that actually woke Vazquez up so he could tap out.



"I remember everything perfect,” says Vazquez. “I passed out, like, in two seconds.”


In retrospect, it’s like a movie for Vazquez. An out-of-body experience that couldn’t possibly have happened to himself, but it did.

As the dreamlike sequence continued, Vazquez says he could actually feel the pain in his arm as Chairez transitioned to the armbar, which awoke him from a deep slumber only to find himself in a confusing, real-life nightmare, not being able to muster the strength in his free hand to tap out. Eventually, the pain became too much, and instinctually, he managed to get his mind and body working as one in order to finally submit.

“I start tapping with my feet and I pass out again,” Vazquez says.

“I was out twice.”


Chairez has faced widespread backlash from fans since the incident, receiving direct messages accusing him of purposely trying to hurt Vazquez or calling him a “dirty fighter,” among other things. In addition to how the fight ended, the one-time Contender Series competitor missed weight ahead of the bout, which has only added to that backlash.


“There was a moment there where I thought he was actually faking it, maybe, so I could let go because the referee wasn’t doing anything about it,” Chairez says through a translator.


“There was a moment when I felt trembling. It kind of scared me a little bit, so that’s why I decided to switch into the armbar, and I was telling the ref, ‘I think he’s out!’ The ref was just standing there in a daze. I was confused but I still did not want to let go of the move, because again, I felt that at any moment he could get up, get me in a position, knock me out, and then I lose.

“But I did notice that the top part of his body wasn’t moving, but his feet were, so it did scare me. I felt bad.”



“The guys from the ambulance, they told me, ‘Man, we noticed right away when you passed out and we were screaming to stop the fight. We tried to scream and everything, but nobody listened,’” Vazquez says.


“So I’m up there [at the hospital] watching the video and I’m like, ‘Man, I passed out in his face twice. I don’t know how he didn’t notice.’ And I’m like, ‘Thank God the guy switched the triangle to the armbar, because I might be dead right now if he didn’t switch it. If he wouldn’t switch it, I might be dead or I might be like a vegetable. It might be like brain damage.

“But thank God I’m here, I’m still alive, and we can talk about it, I guess.”



It’s Chairez’s hope that Vazquez recuperates, and that both fighters find their way to the biggest stage the sport has to offer.

“I know that I didn’t do it with ill intent, we’re just two Mexican warriors that were fighting for a very important fight for both of our careers,” Chairez says. “You know, it’s funny and ironic because everybody says, ‘I want to kill my opponent.’ But deep down, you don’t want to hurt him — it’s just part of the job. It was unfortunate. I’m also glad I let it go.

“But I did doubt myself. I doubted myself, saying, ‘Did I make a mistake [transitioning]?’ What if in that split second, I would have made a mistake? He would have reversed and then I end up on the losing end at the end of the day. It was unfortunate.”




On fight night, Fury FC promoter Eric Garcia, color commentator and UFC welterweight Alex Morono, and many others in the arena — including UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno — screamed at Colazzo cageside in an effort to get his attention. It didn’t work, and the result could have been catastrophic. But what makes things even scarier is the fact that Garcia alleges that Colazzo — who has refereed many of the promotion’s bouts over the years — didn’t understand the outrage once the bout was finally stopped.

“I went in the cage and I asked, ‘Frank, what’s going on? Was he asleep?’ And he’s like, ‘No, he wasn’t out. I was looking at him the whole time. He wasn’t out,’” Garcia alleges.

“I said, ‘Man, I think he was asleep,’ and he was like, ‘No, he wasn’t, man. He was fine.’ That’s the first time I’ve ever experienced that in 13 years as a promoter. That’s the first time something to that extent has happened that really made me reevaluate and be like, ‘Man, this kid could have lost his life in there.’”


“Thank God the guy switched the triangle to the armbar, because I might be dead right now if he didn’t switch it. I might be dead or I might be like a vegetable.” - Gianni Vazquez


The full article is pretty long, I can't put it all in here. It's worth the read, very well written.
Click to expand...



Awesome thread sir, and that ref should be fired...hired again, and then fired.
 
StonedLemur said:
Even the Devil himself would say that was late sir lmao.
Click to expand...
There’s a new deity in town now sir
lilcover.jpg
 
not sure why no one jumped in. went on for long enough.
 
A very sad event.

Most importantly, obviously, for the victim of an incompetent referee.

Also, MMA obviously doesn't need an in fight death attached to the sport. It could really cause an uproar and lead to serious ramifications.
 
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