Mixed martial arts is blessed to have Esther Lin working for it.
As she puts it, she’s a photographer traveling the world, mostly to make images of people punching and kicking each other in the face. However, sometimes it’s not the face, and sometimes it’s not a punch.
UFC heavyweight Travis Browne has an unfortunate reputation for eye gouging.
Former NFL player Matt Mitrione faced Browne in January at UFC Fight Night 81. The referee was Gary Forman, who has developed an uneven reputation in New England. Never the less, he was picked to ref a UFC main card fight.
Forman lost control of the fight, and Browne repeatedly stuck his fingers into Mitione’s eyes, without punishment. The eye swelled until the fighter couldn’t see out of it, resulting in more damage. The result was horrific and required surgery.
Gary Copeland, the referee at UFC 203, lost control of the fight, and Oops! He did it again.
In the first round, Browne used an open hand to block a Fabricio Werdum punch, which dislocated a finger. Browne called for a time out. Werdum went on the attack and was stopped by Copeland.
A legal strike that causes damage such that one fighter no longer wants to fight is a stoppage, not a time out.
“When Travis asked four times, the fight was over TKO victory for Werdum,” tweeted the Dean of MMA refs, ‘Big’ John McCarthy. “Fighters can’t call timeout.”
Copeland also lost control after the fight, when immediately prior to the fight result announcement, Browne’s coach Edmond Tarverdyan got in Werdum’s face, earning a solid teep to the belly.
And Browne at one point sunk a finger deep into Werdum’s eye. Lin captured the moment and posted it to her social network.
“Done working for now,” she wrote. “Good night! Sweet dreams!”
At this year’s Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) annual convention, the MMA Rules and Regulations committee recommended an amendment to the Unified Rules to lessen the chances of eye gouging.
In the standing position, a fighter that moves offensively toward their opponent with an open hand, fingers pointing at the opponent, will be a foul. Referees are to prevent this dangerous behavior by communicating clearly to fighters. Fighters are directed to close their fists or point their fingers straight up in the air when reaching toward an opponent.
The ABC general body approved the rules change, along with others on the definition of a grounded fighter, refined criteria for scoring, and more by a vote of 42-1, with two abstentions. The change will take time to implement across North America, and the world, but it is sorely needed, as you can see.
