Domaren John McCarthy tror inte att konspirationsteoretikerna skulle ha lika mycket luft om de själva fick känna på Tito Ortiz submission.
Flera fans hävdar fortfarande att matchen mellan veteranerna Tito Ortiz (19-12-1) och Chael Sonnen (28-15-1), som toppade förra helgens Bellator 170: Ortiz vs. Sonnen, var uppgjord.
Den erfarne domaren ”Big John McCarthy, som dömde matchen i fråga, tror dock att konspirationsteoretikerna skulle ändra åsikt om de fick känna på samma strypning.
“What I would love if I could do it is take people that say that’s a fix (and say), ‘Good, I’m going to put you in that hold that he was in, and I want you to feel it. I want you to see how strong Tito Ortiz really is. I want you to feel the pressure that Chael was under.’ You could see even on the screen how purple his face was starting to get,” sa McCarthy till MMAjunkie och fortsatte:
“That choke was not what we’d say is a perfect choke. It’s not. It’s on one side of his neck. But trust me, on one side, you start to shut down that one carotid artery, it will put him out. It will just take a lot longer.”
”My job is to protect Chael”
När Sonnen klappade ut valde Ortiz att hålla kvar strypningen, vilket tvingade McCarthy att själv använda våld för att få honom att släppa.
“I don’t want to hurt Tito, but if you’re not listening and you’re trying to hurt Chael, my job is to protect Chael,” fortsatte McCarthy. “If you want to be dumb, then you’re going to end up feeling something that’s not comfortable.”
Ortiz erkände efteråt att handlingen var medveten, på grund – enligt honom oacceptabla – saker som Sonnen hade sagt inför matchen. Trots medgivandet slapp han dock undan från någon påföljd av Kaliforniens atletiska kommission, eftersom McCarthy aldrig yrkade på det.
@JohnMcCarthyMMA Hi John! Why not punish Tito for holding that choke way too long? He clearly had bad intentions.
— Eric Chandonnet (@tchendoh) January 24, 2017
Because Chael was never in danger & Tito paid a price for holding on to long when I stuck my thumb into his Larynx. Trust me it hurt #AskBJM https://t.co/huNA8V8vxg
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) January 25, 2017
”No one else has to follow his rules”
Trots Ortiz osportsliga agerande är det inga hårda känslor från McCarthys sida.
“I think that was 21st fight I’ve done with Tito Ortiz,” sa han “I’ve known Tito since he was a teenager. Tito is a great guy. Now, he does get emotional. He’s the one that really came up (and he) started doing that trash talk, and he has his rules for trash talk. But they’re his rules, and no one else has to follow his rules.”
Relaterad läsning:
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Tito Ortiz rasande efter fuskanklagelserna: ”I almost ripped his neck off”
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Dan Hardy backar från sina anklagelser – men riktar skarp kritik mot Chael Sonnen
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Tito Ortiz kommer inte straffas – trots att han medvetet höll kvar strypningen
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Konspirationsteorierna flödar – var Ortiz vs. Sonnen en uppgjord match?
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Omslagsbild: Mazdak Cavian
