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[smoogy]

I tried to avoid spoiling the outcome in the title for anyone who hasn't watched yet.

The fight was stopped in the third and scored a TKO for TeHuna. But Rogan loudly protested it as an early stoppage, noting that Pokrajac was giving the thumbs up to the referee. What do you think?

[TapOut27]

TERRIBLE stoppage!

[Masscore]

I honestly don't care if a guy is giving a thumbs up or not. He was hit with 9 unanswered blows and did nothing to get out of the position. The ref has to stop the fight if the guy is not defending himself and last I knew, a thumbs up is not defending yourself.

[LefthookStcrook]

Originally Posted by Masscore

I honestly don't care if a guy is giving a thumbs up or not. He was hit with 9 unanswered blows and did nothing to get out of the position. The ref has to stop the fight if the guy is not defending himself and last I knew, a thumbs up is not defending yourself.

Exactly

If that was the case, everyone who got mounted would just turtle up and give the thumbs up sign.

The ref's gotta do his job and if your hit with unanswered blows for a extended period of time, the fights gotta be called. He shouldnt have gotten himself into that position anyways, and it was obvious that he wasnt getting out of it anytime soon.

I've seen far worst stoppages IMO

[smoogy]

Can you give a thumbs up while you are knocked out? Because it seems like he is staring into space at one point

[pantomime horse]

Originally Posted by Masscore

I honestly don't care if a guy is giving a thumbs up or not. He was hit with 9 unanswered blows and did nothing to get out of the position. The ref has to stop the fight if the guy is not defending himself and last I knew, a thumbs up is not defending yourself.

Perfect answer. Yeah, some guys are tough, but the ref's job is to protect the fighter no matter how oblivious they are to their own safety or lack thereof.

[mattc25]

....that guy was about to be out. He was pretty much staring into space after the stoppage. I have not watched how he reacted after the fight though.

[Bloodbeard]

Joe Rogan thinks an intelligent defense to getting punched in the head is giving the thumbs up? Why am I not surprised? lol.

[Xtremo]

I saw the gif before I read anything....I didn't even saw the thumbs up....I thought he was out...

[Leucoethiops]

Hard to say... I don't think a fight should necessarily be stopped because a guy is taking some unanswered shots; not if the guy is giving the thumbs up, maintaining a closed guard, and trying to pull his arm free. However, it's hard to criticize a referee for not letting someone take undue amounts of damage just because he's still conscious, the refs are paid to recognize situations and use their judgment in projecting where they think that situation is going.

It's not exactly a black/white issue; some people have higher pain thresholds, seemingly thicker skulls and maybe don't mind eating a few punches while they wait for a moment to explode or try something.

Joe Rogan made a good point (I thought) during the Velasquez / Rothwell fight too. Big Ben was taking a lot of shots to the head, but he was simultaneously wall walking which was improving his position and the ref stopped the fight. Don't get me wrong; the tide of that fight was not going to change, Rothwell was soundly dominated prior to the stoppage, and would have been soundly dominated had the fight continued. In fact he was warned at the start of the round by the ref that he was not going to be allowed to endure that kind of beating much longer.

I say if the ref is yelling out, repeatedly, for a fighter to improve their position, and the fighter doesn't try, or doesn't manage to improve it, then stop it. The ref warned them, the fighter heard it multiple times; no results = fight over.

It's a tough call. But at the end of the day, does anyone really want to see someone take excessive punishment just because they can? I don't. These guys are in a rough sport, and the average career isn't too long. These guys need to be able to function when they're time is over. They're not going to have the luxury of a pension.