Irvins Ayala and Drew ‘The Honorable’ Chatman made their pro debuts at LFA 36; it was the oddest finish of the year.
The viral sequence began with Ayala throwing a perfectly timed low kick that dropped Chatman to the mat. Ayala followed up by dropping down and attempting a monster hammer fist. It appeared that Ayala had won.
However, Ayala’s chin dropped right onto Chatman’s knee, and he went out. It appeared that Chatman had won.
However, Chatman then leaped up and celebrated. Bad news was he celebrated by hopping onto Ayala’s unconscious body and then front flipping off it. The California State Athletic Commission disqualified Chatman. So Ayala ended up winning anyway.
CSAC executive officer Andy Foster explained to Marc Raimondi that Chatman’s infractions included striking after a fight, unsportsmanlike conduct, and striking an opponent in the referee’s care. Chatman has been suspended for 90 days, and had his purse withheld, as is standard in California in the case of a disqualification.
https://twitter.com/AXSTVFights/status/977578707966545925
Chatman spoke afterward with MMA Fighting and offered a heartfelt apology.
If you see all my amateur fights, I’m doing flips, I’m doing cartwheels or whatever the case may be,” said Chatman. “I didn’t think before I did it. I just jumped and did a flip. So it was almost like subconsciously I did what I normally what I would do celebrating a victory that I normally get.
Let me be honest with you, man. I don’t deserve to get paid for that. It’s disappointing watching that. My mother has to see that. People that look up to me and see me become an inspiration to them have to look at that. Even though I’m not a champion so to speak, but I overcame a lot of things and I became something that I never thought I would become. Just to have my first pro fight is crazy, because I didn’t think I’d ever be on this level. It just happened so fast.
I’m OK with having my pay taken away. I’m OK with being suspended 90 days. I’m OK with that. Because you can’t get that back. The video is priceless. I have to look back at that and live with regret every single day.
I want to apologize to Irvins Ayala. He was a good opponent. And he brought the fight to me. And he had a lot of heart. It was not a good move on my part as a martial artist. And I want to apologize to the California athletic commission, because they laid down the rules, they gave a great understanding and they do their job very well. Also, to Legacy, LFA, because they gave me a great opportunity to display my skills and it was a good platform.
I’m not gonna play the victim here, because when you look at it the real victim here is Irvins Ayala. Let’s just be real. He showed up, he fought. It was an unfortunate mishap, but it did not have to end that way. All this publicity, all this media, the reality is I was wrong and I ain’t trying to gain no fame off of this, because I’m a martial artist.
This was my first fight, so it was a lot of nerves, it was a lot of emotions. It was a lot of outside influence due to the crowd, being one-sided. Everything that was going through my mind as a fighter — it was all over the place. As a normal fighter experiences before a fight. But this was my first pro and I haven’t fought since last August. So, the tension and the pressure was really high.
I know that after this happened a lot of MMA guys might be upset, because I’m giving them a bad name for people who are not even familiar with mixed marital arts. Someone who doesn’t even watch mixed martial arts might turn on the television and see this and then think, ‘This is how these cage fighters are.’
I do call myself ‘The Honorable’ and I’m not losing that name. My name is not perfect. So I understand that as a person I have to grow and learn from my mistakes. And I’m not ever gonna be perfect. But I will guarantee you this: It will never happen again.
Chatman did break the rules. But his follow up apologies is genuinely honorable, and admirable.
