The main event of Fury FC 76 has recently stirred up the MMA community since the referee continued the fight even though one of the fighters was already unconscious. Dana White being the pioneer of combat sports promotions that he is, spoke out on the refereeing of that particular fight.
On Saturday night in San Antonio, Fury FC 76 took place in the Boeing Center at Tech Port. Frank Collazo, who was the official referee for the night, is currently the hot topic in many MMA related discussions due to his controversial decision to carry on the fight during the main event’s flyweight bout.
#FuryFC76 Contender Series 2022 alumnus Edgar Cháirez 🇲🇽 competes TONIGHT at Fury FC 76 in San Antonio, Texas, against Gianni Vazquez 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/6M8CMf5gCK
— Danny Jones (@Tidy_MMA) March 24, 2023
What happened during the bout between Gianni Vazquez and Edgar Chairez?
The main event pitted the flyweight division’s two hottest prospects, Edgar Chairez and Gianni Vazquez, against one other. The two Mexican fighters, who are regarded as some of the brightest prospects in the Texas-based MMA promotion, delivered an outstanding performance.
Ridiculous scene at Fury FC. Edgar Cháirez puts Gianni Vazquez to sleep with a triangle, and the ref simply doesn't stop it. Cháirez ends up armbarring an unconscious Vazquez who wakes up in the submission. #Furyfc76 pic.twitter.com/AgcwI2i3ss
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 25, 2023
However, after three intense rounds of intense mixed martial arts, Cháirez eventually trapped Vazquez in a triangle submission. Unfortunately, “Kriptonita” momentarily lost consciousness, which the referee failed to notice, and the fight went on. Afterward, Vazquez regained consciousness and tapped to acknowledge defeat.
What did Dana White have to say about the Fury FC refereeing?
The UFC president addressed the referee issue and harshly criticized the decision during the UFC San Antonio post-fight press conference,
“That’s the kind of stuff that I really don’t like. If a guy gets choked unconscious and you don’t know he’s choked unconscious. Everybody has a bad night. Everybody makes mistakes, but a guy gets choked unconscious and then they pull him into an armbar. It doesn’t get any worse than that. You shouldn’t be a ref if that happens, in my opinion.”
Ironically Dana’s own promotion saw some bad refereeing like the above-mentioned incident. Both Mario Yamasaki and Herb Dean have become infamous for their failure to stop fights at the right time on several occasions. Fans have dragged the famous lines ‘If he dies, he dies’ from Ivan Drago of the ‘Rocky’ film series to compile some of such incidents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC6RYzE0l20
The viral video of Vasquez falling unconscious has the entire internet in a frenzy. What are your thoughts on Fury FC 76’s refereeing? Do you think Frank Collazo should have stopped the fight earlier? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
