For an athletic endeavor that’s all about smashing your opponent’s face in, mixed martial arts is known for it’s surprisingly robust sportsmanship. You can see this in the near-unanimous glove touching at the start of every round and the post fight hugs in every fight from the amateur levels right up to UFC championship bouts between bitter rivals. But this may be the first time we’ve seen one fighter give medical attention to his opponent during their fight!
In a recent bout between Paata Tschapelia and Arkadiusz Wroblewski in Germany, Wroblewski ends up dislocating his shoulder throwing a massive overhand left at the very start of the fight. As the referee looks to the sidelines for help, Tschapelia steps forward instead and pulls on Wroblewski’s arm until it pops back into place, allowing the two to continue fighting. Not the kind of thing that would be allowed to happen in North America, but we appreciate the warrior spirit behind the decision regardless.
The fight went down at Mannheimer Hafenkeilerei 5 on December 10th, and because I’m sure you were wondering, it turns out Paata Tschapelia isn’t just a good medic, he’s a better fighter too. He ended up beating Arkadiusz Wroblewski via TKO at 3:52 of round 1.