Chael Sonnen Thinks Junior Dos Santos Should Fire His Cornermen

1482941 chael sonnen ufc fighter profile large display imageJunior Dos Santos took a pretty horrific beating at the hands of Cain Velasquez at UFC 166, a beating that was almost a carbon copy of their second meeting; only this time CV got the finish. A nasty fifth round TKO was the end result, one that left Dos Santos looking almost as mangled and busted up as last time.

In light of the recent match between Rosi Sexton and Jessica Andrade, and subsequent three round pasting, it seems that there is possibly a need for stricter guidelines of when a fight is over. UFC competitor Chael Sonnen feels the same way, as he spoke at the UFC Manchester Q & A:

“Junior Dos Santos’ cornerman needs to be cut, period. That was beyond inappropriate, that they sent him back out there. The doctor comes in twice, what that doctor was looking for I have no idea. The referee didn’t stop the fight, though he should have. Ultimately, it defaults to your cornerman, who you trust, who is like a father figure, and that guy let Junior Dos Santos down, period. The commission licenses these cornermen. I don’t have the foggiest idea why; I guess just to take their $25. That should be the first cornerman that’s suspended, that was beyond wrong what he did.”

Dos Santos himself admits that he cannot remember anything after the second round, where he was rocked and seemingly out on his feet. Was the following two and a half rounds an example of misconduct by the officials and cornermen? Sonnen continued:

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“You do not stop the fight when your fighter can no longer continue. You stop the fight when your fighter can no longer win. The second your guy can’t win, you get him out of there. That fight should have been stopped way earlier. It knocked years off of Junior’s life and career, that cornerman should be fired.”

The problem with these kind of situations is that nothing will be done until a fighter is brain damaged, or worse. While Dos Santos displayed a ton of heart in answering the bell for each round, he may have been very lucky to not get badly hurt.

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We are thankfully yet to see a high profile MMA related death, but with officiating like we saw in JDS vs. CV III, or Sexton vs. Andrade; it is only a matter of time. So what can be done? Well, a little common sense probably would do a world of good.

For instance: When a fighter’s head swells to twice it’s normal size, they have trouble standing up and are bleeding like a cut up pig; it’s probably time to call the fight off.

Referees are told that when a fighter can no longer intelligently defend himself or herself, the fight is over. Well it seems like Dos Santos wasn’t ‘intelligently’ defending for most of his bout, and although Sexton was; she really never had a chance against Andrade. For the benefit of reaching the last round in a fight, is the risk of brain damage a smart gamble? I don’t think it is.

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