Fight fans witnessed one of the best referee saves in recent combat sports memory when an official stopped a fighter’s head from crashing to the canvas after a brutal knockout at One Friday Fights 31 earlier today (Fri., Sept. 1, 2023) from inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The incident occurred during a co-main event matchup between Muay Thai strikers Chorfah and Mongkolkaew Sor Sommai. Neither fighter is known for their one-punch knockout power, but that’s exactly how this fight played out.
After a fairly entertaining first round that saw both mean land meaningful shots Chorfah launched a beautiful left hook early into Round 2 that caught Mongkolkaew flush. Mongkolkaew instantly went out and started to fall backwards onto the canvas. As he made his way to the mat the referee slid in like Rickey Henderson stealing home plate to stop Mongkolkaew’s head from smashing onto the ground.
Mongkolkaew was already out, but the extra effort by the referee certainly saved him from further damage. Check it out in the above video player courtesy of ONE Championship.
While referees are in the middle of every combat sporting event that we witness it’s rare that they take this kind of action. Some referees are so bad at their job that they’re halfway across the ring when a knockout like this occurs. This referee must have been trying to buy his way into combat heaven or something like that.
Thoughts?