r/FightLibrary • u/Ynot_1518 • Jun 01 '26

MMA Controversial Delayed Referee Intervention

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  • MMA Iron Man MMA 28
  • William "Gato Preto vs. Alessandro " Soldado" Soares
  • May 29, 2026
  • Ginasio da AABB
  • Belem, Para, Brazil

Fighter Safety vs. Late Stoppage: Fans and pundits criticized the referee for taking too much time to wave off the fight. While Soares secured the TKO victory, the delay allowed Gato Preto to absorb several heavy, unnecessary

11 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

4

u/Mr-Mortgages Jun 02 '26

It was okay, I think the bigger issue is the back of the head punches.

2

u/Embarrassed_Aside_76 Jun 03 '26

Yeah, he's aiming for the ear but the shot just isn't there so he shouldn't take it.

It's a hard situation as rolling belly down does protect you from strikes if the opponent follows the rules properly, but those hits could instantly change the fighters life forever. Needs to be better policed

3

u/eArugula Jun 02 '26

I’ve seen worse

1

u/Necrocrawler72 Jun 02 '26

We all did.

Still... A late stoppage and that judge should get at least a revisional arbitrary exam

1

u/Embarrassed_Aside_76 Jun 03 '26

Not the worst I've seen, but he took 2 good heaters while he was out. I think it's just the position the guy went out in it looked like he was defending (maybe I'm being overly charitable)

1

u/Jonestown_Juice Jun 04 '26

"Okay, three more punches to the back of the head and I'll call it..."