Veteran fighter Zhuman Zhumabekov scored one of the most impressive finishes of the night at a Dala Fighting Championship event in Astana, Kazakhstan on Saturday. Unfortunately, the submission victory was marred in controversy due to some seriously inept refereeing.
Less than three minutes into their bout Zhumabekov locked on a Von Flue choke that rendered his opponent, India’s Abhilash Raut, unconscious. Referee Baurzhan Zhumanov completely failed to recognize that Raut had lost consciousness and encouraged Zhumabekov to keep working.
Luckily, Zhumabekov realized what the referee didn’t and relinquished the hold.
A VON FLUE choke followed by some of the worst reffing you've seen in a long time at #DalaFightingChampionship
pic.twitter.com/9wbNllaY8h
— Steven Rae (@stevenrae_) November 2, 2024
In a bit of good news, Raut woke up several moments later and is expected to make a full recovery.
Zhumabekov moved to 14-8 in his MMA career and snapped a two-fight losing streak with the submission victory. Meanwhile, Raut dropped to 5-4 and has now lost three fights in a row via stoppage.
It’s not the first time a fighter’s life has been at risk due to incompetent judging
Sadly, this isn’t the first time a referee has completely failed to protect a fighter inside the cage. Last year at Fury FC 76 in San Antonio, Texas, former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Edgar Chairez locked in a triangle choke in the fourth round of his main event clash with Gianni Vazquez.
Vazquez went unconscious while in the hold, but referee Frank Collazo didn’t notice. While Vazquez was still unconscious, Chairez transitioned to an armbar and held it until Vazquez woke up and immediately tapped out.