The outcome disappointed the entire Accor Arena, as the fight was breathtaking. This Thursday, Baysangur “Baki” Chamsoudinov won by TKO (referee stoppage) in the third round against Cédric Doumbè. A stop which raises questions, since “The Best” had not been touched by his opponent. After a little over a minute in the third round, the Frenchman complained about his foot, and the referee decided to stop this confrontation, amid general incomprehension.
But why did he make this decision? Let’s rewind the events. In the third round, Cédric Doumbè first complained about his foot for the first time, explaining to the referee that he had something stuck under it. As the regulations require, the referee asked the fighter to continue, which Doumbè did.
However, he hardly moved anymore. Faced with this immobility, Baki asked what was happening, pushing Cédric Doumbè to show his foot to the referee. An exchange recounted by the winner at a press conference. “Cédric first complained to the referee, he told him to continue the fight,” he explained. He says it again, then he says it in French. I told him to take off what was on his foot. I tried to help him by asking the referee to take away what was in his foot because I wanted a real fight. Cedric complained again and the referee stopped it. »
In the cage, after the fight, Cédric Doumbè had another version. “I didn’t want to stop the fight, I wanted to continue but I had a small splinter in my foot,” he assured. It hurts me. I just wanted to take it off and move on. The referee said I couldn’t stop so I continued. My opponent showed that I had a problem, so the referee stopped. » In the process, Doumbè asked the public not to whistle Baki, specifying that the problem came from the referee.
At a press conference, Dan Hardy, the PFL fight manager, defended his referee, believing that he had made the right decision. “You cannot ask for a time-out yourself,” he clarified. He got a warning, the fight continued for a few seconds and then it happened again. There was a short conversation between the two and then Doumbè turned to the referee a second time. We can’t turn to the referee and say we have an injury. »
The decision in any case disappointed the public at the Accor Arena, because the fight kept all its promises. The two fighters offered a rematch, if the PFL agrees to pay the price because Baki felt he was underpaid for this poster.
