FNF - Jonathan Maicelo vs. Rustam Nugaev - April 5th.

[IamInuit]

I realize that fellas but you dont hold a guy down let alone call the fight in a 3kd rule fight. Let him attempt to get up and call it off

Makes sense, on 2nd look Maicelo was trying to get up, I guess in the ref's mind he was protecting the fighter.

He called the fight prior to holding him down. Thats coddling. Lets give them helmets.

[El Kabong]

I realize that fellas but you dont hold a guy down let alone call the fight in a 3kd rule fight. Let him attempt to get up and call it off

Makes sense, on 2nd look Maicelo was trying to get up, I guess in the ref's mind he was protecting the fighter.

He called the fight prior to holding him down. Thats coddling. Lets give them helmets.

THANK YOU! Let them fight like its always been done. Don't kill the sport with safety,!

[beenKOed]

I realize that fellas but you dont hold a guy down let alone call the fight in a 3kd rule fight. Let him attempt to get up and call it off

Makes sense, on 2nd look Maicelo was trying to get up, I guess in the ref's mind he was protecting the fighter.

He called the fight prior to holding him down. Thats coddling. Lets give them helmets.

THANK YOU! Let them fight like its always been done. Don't kill the sport with safety,!

The referee is tasked with enforcing the rules and protecting the fighters. I've seen referees restrain fighters many, many times after they've waved a fight off.
If the referee had just put a hand on his chest to restrain him, nothing would have been said, but when he grabbed both wrists it looked different.
Piss on the three knock down rule, if the referee thinks he's had enough, that's good enough for me. The kid was taking a real beating and the KD was the last straw. Good stoppage, in my opinion

[TitoFan]

I'm not going to second-guess the referee on this one. He did what he thought was best for the fallen Maicelo. However... he did have to forcibly keep Maicelo down, while the guy was making an effort to get up. He could've let the guy up, looked into his eyes, and then stopped the fight anyway. At least the guy's out on his feet, not flat on his back. Having said that, there was no way in hell Maicelo could've been allowed to continue. Not the way he went down. In reality, it was the waving off of the fight that prompted the ref to pin Maicelo's wrists to the canvas. It just looked a bit weird, is all. Bottom line, though... it's a judgement call made under pressure and at the moment. His priority was protecting Maicelo from potential serious injury. So IMO he shouldn't be second-guessed.