Photo by UAE Warriors
- A middleweight MMA match at a UAE Warriors event Saturday ended in chaos.
- There were knockdowns, a complaint about foul play, and a knockout one fighter never saw coming.
- Watch it all unfold right here.
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An MMA match ended in unadulterated chaos when a fighter got knocked out cold while complaining about an eye poke.
It all went down at a UAE Warriors event Saturday at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Gianni Melillo from Italy, and Mohammad Karaki from Lebanon, competed in a middleweight contest and though the bout lasted little more than two minutes, it was not short of drama.
There were knockdowns, a complaint of foul play, and then a knock out that left Karaki out cold when he seemingly wasn't even looking.
It goes back to the old adage – protect yourself at all times.
In the sequence below you can see both fighters exchange flash knockdowns, with Melillo, at the 2:49 mark on the round clock, hitting Karaki with a two-punch move.
The first shot, though, appears to be a rogue eye poke - perhaps accidental. The follow-up shot is a clean strike.
Moments later, while Karaki turned his back and protested to referee Frank Trigg, Melillo capitalized on the confusion and thumped his opponent with a hard right hand.
Karaki fell to the floor, unconscious, and just lay on his front before Melillo backed away to celebrate the win.
Check it out:
-caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 19, 2021
With victory, Melillo advanced his pro MMA record to 14 wins against six losses.