Melissa Gatto stunned the world at UFC Vegas 92 as her fight with Tamires Vidal took a very bizarre turn in the third round.
Up until that point, the fight had been playing out quite normally. Both fighters were eager to get a win, and as the rounds passed, they both never abandoned hopes. The fight for Gatto was of much significance, as her last two outings would see her be defeated. She seemed to be ahead going into the third round, and that’s when things took a turn for the bizarre.
Melissa Gatto Defeats Tamires Vidal via Breast Punch, which turns out to be a legal blow
In the third round, Melissa Gatto landed a punch that caught Vidal in the breast. Vidal turned away as if she expected things to maybe get stopped, and Gatto didn’t intend to stop anything. She poured on the pressure and swarmed her opponent, prompting the referee, Chris Tognoni, to stop the fight, signaling a TKO victory for Melissa Gatto.
Tamires Vidal vs Melissa Gatto gets the TKO over Tamires Vidal via A PUNCH TO THE BOOB
Don’t see that every day
#UFC #MMA #UFCVegas92 pic.twitter.com/FPx61oqlqu
— MMA Casuals (@MMA_CASUALS_) May 18, 2024
Such a stoppage was definitely very odd, but luckily the fights were held at the UFC Apex, and things were so silent you might’ve been able to hear a pin drop. It was soon confirmed that the strike was indeed legal, albeit extremely rare. Gatto was awarded the victory, and just like that, her losing streak was officially put to rest.
While punches to the torso are universally legal under the current rules, one might say that a punch to the breast of a woman is a bit extreme. When men are hit in the groin, a timeout is issued due to the debilitating pain. It also doesn’t take a woman to imagine that getting hit in the breast is probably a similar pain. Yet, such a thing is very rare and hasn’t really happened enough for such a special rule change to be made.
Do you think a timeout should be given for breast shots in MMA?