Some fans believe that Jiri Prochazka tapped out during his light heavyweight title tilt with Glover Teixeira at UFC 275 this weekend.
Prochazka and Teixeira met inside the Octagon in Singapore during the event’s headliner, and the fight turned out to be an all-time classic. The battle was full of momentum swings and all facets of mixed martial arts.
The fight nearly went the distance. Although Teixeira appeared seconds away from retaining his 205-pound belt, Prochazka caught him in a rear-naked choke and forced the tap. With only three fights in the promotion, “Denisa” hoisted gold in the middle of the cage as the undisputed light heavyweight king.
Well, some fans are disputing it. They believe that Teixeira should have been crowned the winner after Prochazka appeared to tap during the fight.
A clip was shared on Twitter of Teixeira sitting in mount while landing ground and pound on Prochazka. And at one point, Denisa tapped the Brazilian’s head several times. Watch the clip below:
Referee Marc Goddard Said That Procazka Was ‘Congratulating & Encouraging’ Teixeira
There has been chatter in the MMA community about Prochazka potentially tapping, with some saying that the fight should have been stopped by the referee, Marc Goddard, thus granting Teixeira the victory.
Well, Goddard chimed in on the controversy, saying that Prochazka was praising Teixeira, not submitting.
A fight fan asked Goddard via Twitter: “What’s the view on the perceived Jiri tapping mate if you’ve watched it back?”
“Lol,” Goddard replied. “Jiri was actually congratulating & encouraging his opponent! He done it a couple of times and I told him it’s a risky game lol! But it’s very clear what he was doing and intending. Lets celebrate the incredible feat from both gentleman.”
Some Fans Aren’t Buying Goddard’s Explanation & Some Defended the Ref
Even though the official referee of the bout dismissed Prochazka’s actions during the UFC 275 headliner, others aren’t.
A Twitter user wrote: “Anyone who watched UFC 275 watched a fixed main event. It’s either a fixed fight or Jiri tapped in the 1st RD. But the ref didn’t stop it, so he was in on it too. @danawhite greed got you pimp.”
One fight fan tweeted: “How can he try to justify this? Regardless of why, dude clearly tapped on his opponents back 4 times while he was in the most dominant ground position (mount) and Marc claims ‘he was just being a gentleman.’ I mean, that’s bad.”
Some came to Goddard’s defense, with one individual tweeting: “But it’s NOT bad. Marc clearly knew the fighter’s intentions. Plus Glover didn’t say shit or try and argue any of it. The ref is right next to the fighters – he can hear and see everything. I’ll take his word over some fan watching from the comfort of their couch.”
Another Twitter user tweeted: “So do you want that to count as a tap? A good ref will know the difference between a fighter being a position where a tap is likely, and also the intention of it. Not remember Randy and Tito? Let’s not try to take all the fun out the sport.”
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Fans Are Convinced Jiri Prochazka Tapped Out Before Winning UFC Gold