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

[Spicoli]

I dont like what the ref did at all.

He waved the fight off before he held him down.

Once you go down on your face after taking that many clean shots its like showing up an hour late to a job interview with a ref

The ref looked more concerned with him flopping around Berbick style than he did him actually being sound enough to suffer more kd's. Good ending

Look, it may have been the right call but it was the wrong way to do it lending to the ongoing pussyfication of this sport.

I think thats a huge stretch. It wasn't a cut call, stoppage on iffy kd and the damage was really accumulating and ended in a brutal one punch face crash.

Ref saw something and we were not able to see his eyes, be they clear or rolling into the back of his head. Simply 'moving' on the canvas doesn't make you able to continue

[IamInuit]

I dont like what the ref did at all.

He waved the fight off before he held him down.

Once you go down on your face after taking that many clean shots its like showing up an hour late to a job interview with a ref

The ref looked more concerned with him flopping around Berbick style than he did him actually being sound enough to suffer more kd's. Good ending

Look, it may have been the right call but it was the wrong way to do it lending to the ongoing pussyfication of this sport.

I think thats a huge stretch. It wasn't a cut call, stoppage on iffy kd and the damage was really accumulating and ended in a brutal one punch face crash.

Ref saw something and we were not able to see his eyes, be they clear or rolling into the back of his head. Simply 'moving' on the canvas doesn't make you able to continue

Different fighters recoup differently. Let him stand up and do the Judah or get rid of the 3 knockdown rule.

[Spicoli]

I dont like what the ref did at all.

He waved the fight off before he held him down.

Once you go down on your face after taking that many clean shots its like showing up an hour late to a job interview with a ref

The ref looked more concerned with him flopping around Berbick style than he did him actually being sound enough to suffer more kd's. Good ending

Look, it may have been the right call but it was the wrong way to do it lending to the ongoing pussyfication of this sport.

I think thats a huge stretch. It wasn't a cut call, stoppage on iffy kd and the damage was really accumulating and ended in a brutal one punch face crash.

Ref saw something and we were not able to see his eyes, be they clear or rolling into the back of his head. Simply 'moving' on the canvas doesn't make you able to continue

Different fighters recoup differently. Let him stand up and do the Judah or get rid of the 3 knockdown rule.

Dude. You don't have to go down 3 times just to prove your ko'd once. Judah is the prime example of a guy who should have never been allowed to get up in the first place

[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.