Mixed martial arts is still evolving as a sport, trying to find the sweet spot in a unified ruleset that’s only about fifteen years old. This year we saw various changes come down from various athletic commissions to change the way a downed fighter is considered “down” and now fighters can’t stick their fingers out to gauge distance lest they poke their opponent in the eye. Those are good, marginal changes to the rules. They were needed. But, there’s room to improve, and there’s one rule change that’s been absent from any commission discussions — the official recognition of fighter on referee bonus matches that takes place once every thousand fights or so. These should be added to both the fighter and referee’s record.
We know the ref vs. fighter bout is rare and can happen under a variety of circumstances, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be embraced completely. In this particular case, we see Ryse Brink punch his opponent, Joseph Nehm, so hard, he’s sent into a sideways dimension in which the ref is his new opponent. In said dimension, he racks up the W quickly with a slick rear naked choke the ref never saw coming.
When it’s all said and done, Nehm is 1-1 on the night, and he has redeemed himself, if only a little.
(Via Stars And Strikes MMA)
