(True to his nickname, Mark “The Great White Shark” Potter prefers his opponents to be grossly overweight and easily capable of being put down. Photo courtesy of David Lethaby.)
You guys remember that insane Pancrase fighter who couldn’t stop beating the shit out of his opponent despite the ref’s intervention? Meet the complete opposite of that.
Yes, last Saturday’s CFC 12 heavyweight clash between Mark Potter and Larry Watts may have featured the most indecisive moment in refereeing since Matt Brown vs. Pete Sell. After sending Watts tumbling to the mat with his first punch, Potter, who looks like a smaller, fitter version of Sean McCorkle, decides not to continue punishing his clearly rocked opponent. The ref begins to wave off the bout, but decides not to actually step between the fighters while doing so. Unaware of this, Potter only sees that Watts is still conscious and continues his onslaught. And the ref does nothing to stop this.
Skip to the 1:50 mark for the beginning of this mess. The first, and what should have been last, punch of the fight lands shortly thereafter. When Potter piles on the punishment, the ref decides that it would be best to just let these two continue on their own terms. Judging by both Watts’ physique and striking “technique,” he must have stumbled into the ring thinking it was the stage for a hot dog eating competition. And let’s not even get into his striking defense, which would make Koji Oishi hang his head in disgust.
We’ll give Watts this, the man does not give up until he is out cold. Unfortunately for him, that moment comes less than ten seconds later, when the brute force of another Potter straight right Potter literally makes Watts’ spine *shiver* and plants the poor son of a bitch face down on the canvas. At this point, the referee looks to Potter, asks him if he is finished, and steps in to officially wave off the fight. Good job, bro.
Don’t ask us how someone with the skill set of Watts managed to fight for a title of any kind, because we simply could not tell you. He must have sick ground game.
-J. Jones