Should illegal blows during MMA fight go ignored?

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By Dann Stupp, Contributing Writer 9:02 PM Sunday, October 11, 2009

Nearly a month after his loss to Vitor Belfort in the main event of the Ultimate Fighting Championships’ UFC 103 event, Rich Franklin and his camp still have remained largely silent about the night’s controversial ending.

J.T. Stewart, who manages Franklin (a West Chester Twp. native), has his reasons, he said.

“Fans are probably going to think it’s sour grapes,” he said. “But it’s not. It’s about fighter safety.”

Since its transformation from spectacle to sport, fighter safety has remained a No. 1 priority for those who have invested in the sport of mixed martial arts. Like most organizations, the UFC has never had a competitor die or even suffer a serious injury in the cage.

The reason? Promoters, primarily the UFC, have embraced regulation and implemented a lengthy list of rules designed to protect competitors from potentially dangerous maneuvers such as head butts, eye pokes and groin shots.

At UFC 103, Franklin suffered such illegal blows – punches to the back of the head – but because the strikes came after he had already been knocked down (with a legal punch) and was on his hands and knees, just about everyone dismissed the illegal shots.

Even if Franklin was likely to lose anyway – which seems to be the general consensus – isn’t it worth discussing? Should Franklin have been given time to recover? It’s worth some dialogue, Stewart said.

“Would it have changed the outcome?” Stewart asked. “Maybe not. But this is about fighter safety. This isn’t just about Rich Franklin; it’s about Rich and every other fighter knowing the rules will be enforced, whether the fight is about to be stopped or not.”

The shots obviously rattled Franklin, who was coherent but a bit dazed in the night’s post-press conference – a full hour after the fight. Stewart said that even after Franklin’s two violent TKO losses to Anderson Silva, Franklin “was fine within 10 minutes and knowing what’s going on.”

So what would Stewart like to see happen?

“There’s been no discussion about it,” he said. “None. It’s a disappointing. The commissions, referees, fighters – everyone could have improved the safety of the sport by examining and discussing this situation. But because most people thought the outcome was a foregone conclusion, everyone conveniently ignored it.”

Despite being fully healed from the fight, Franklin will take some extended time off, Stewart said. Franklin (26-5), who’s already headlined three UFC event in 2009, will likely return in the spring of 2010.

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008 World MMA Awards. For the latest mixed-martial-arts news, go to www.mmajunkie.com.

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Did you guys even read the article ?!?

His manager isnt talking about late hits,
hes talking about the blows to the back of the head.

JeffG
3:01 PM, 10/13/2009

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I'm sure if Bisping was from Springfield, they would have.

But, as unnecessary as the extra shot was, it was A) hardly fatal and B) technically legal since fighters are taught to fight until the referee stops it. Hendo landed the extra shot before the referee was able to get between them.

And I'm not saying that as a Henderson fanboy, Id didn't have a horse in that race. The KO punch was outstanding, but I would have been just as happy if Bisping had won.

Paul
6:13 AM, 10/13/2009

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You're making a big stink about a few weak blows to the back of the head of Franklin?? Yet when Bisping was violently dive-bomb punched when he was unconscious everyone in the states thought it was hilarious... What happened to Franklin was nothing. How about we talk about banning Dan Henderson instead, he easily coulda seriously injured Bisping or even killed a lesser man with such a brutal, disguisting attack. I find it laughable that in an article about fighter safety you dont bring up ufc100

fantana817
11:09 PM, 10/12/2009

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