Video: Referee blindly allows bout to continue with unconscious fighter — who then woke up and tapped to armbar
On the night before UFC San Antonio, the Texas city hosted Fury FC 76, an event that included a horrific scene due to a referee’s unbelievable incompetence.
In the main event, Edgar Chairez — who is a one-time competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series — took on Gianni Vasquez. In the fourth round, Chairez locked on a nasty triangle that visibly put Vasquez to sleep, which was repeated multiple times on the broadcast by the commentators — which included current UFC welterweight Alex Morono.
Referee Frank Collazo watched the hold for nearly 30 seconds, which most of that time, Vasquez was choked out, only to allow the action to continue despite many sitting cage side screaming to Collazo that Vasquez was out. Chairez then transitioned to an armbar, a move that actually woke Vasquez up before eventually tapping following the irresponsible scene.
Watch the video of the scary moment below.
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
A message to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation — the commission overseeing the event — has yet to returned to MMA Fighting in regards to the matter.
On Saturday, promotional officials released a statement on the Fury Fighting Championship Facebook page to react to the referee’s performance.
“It is the referee’s job to protect the fighter when the fighter cannot protect him or herself. In last night’s main event, the referee failed to do this,” the promotion stated. “While the job of a referee is one of the hardest to do in this sport, the need for proper and continued training would help to alleviate things like this incident.
“We do not hire, train or select refs for our shows, but we would be more than willing to lead a revamp and overhaul of the reffing and judging selection and training process.”
