MMA Referee Chokes Fighter After He Refuses To Release Tapping Opponent

An MMA referee had to step in and choke a fighter after he refused to release his tapping opponent. Watch here:

Doolotbek Narmatov was fighting Saidburkhon Saidakbarov at a World Ertaymash Federation (WEF) event in Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday (19 May) when he appeared to forget about the rules of the bout.

Narmatov made light work of his opponent, locking in a guillotine choke in the first round; but as Saidakbarov frantically tapped on his arm he refused to let go.

Realising he wasn't acknowledging the submission, the referee repeatedly tried tugging Saidakbarov free, to no avail.

Fearful for his safety, the referee took decisive action, choking Narmatov and pinning him to the mat - at which point he finally let go, before wheeling away in celebration.

Remarkably, no penalty was imposed on Narmatov and he was instated as the WEF featherweight champion.

But while he faced no disciplinary action, he was condemned by UFC fans and commentators.

MMA Fighting writer Jed Meshew said: "That's the type of thing that should get you banned from the cage.

"The guy tapped and he didn't let go and then the ref tried to pull him off and he still didn't let go and then the ref choked him and he STILL didn't want to let go.

"That's how people get killed."

Last week, a suspected car thief made a terrible mistake, targeting a vehicle belonging to UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis.

Lewis found the bloke attempting to break into his car and took matters into his own hands, reportedly knocking him out before calling Houston Police.

In a post on Instagram, Lewis shared a shot of the man being escorted away by police. He also shared a video showing deep scratch marks on his car door.

"Mother f***** tried to break into my s***," he said.

He captioned the post: "Mofo pick right/wrong car to break into. HE'S OK."

He later uploaded a shot showing a slightly bruised knuckle with the word 'satisfaction' written across the top and 'He's OK' at the bottom.

Lewis told ESPN reporter Ariel Helwani he had knocked the man out before police arrived.

Posting on Twitter Helwani said: "Derrick Lewis tells me he noticed a man trying to break into his SUV this morning.

"He knocked the man out. The police then apprehended him."

Topics: SPORT, UFC

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey