Fury FC released an official statement after an inept referee failed to stop a fight during its event on Friday night.
Emanating from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, fighters Edgar Cháirez and Gianni Vazquez stepped inside the cage as part of the 20-fight mega-event on Friday night. Roughly 80 seconds into the fourth round, Cháirez caught Vazquez in a triangle choke. Cinching it in, Vazquez was clearly unconscious as even the commentators began yelling “he’s out” in a desperate plea to get the referee to step in and stop the action. Unfortunately, he simply couldn’t be bothered to do his job.
Instead, referee Frank Collazo chose to stand there and look on, allowing Vazquez to remain in the hold, further depriving him of air. After keeping Vazquez in the hold for nearly 25 seconds, Cháirez switched from a triangle choke to an arm bar while Vazquez was still clearly unconscious. The referee continued to stand there and do absolutely nothing until Vazquez regained consciousness and instinctively tapped out.
Ridiculous scene at Fury FC. Edgar Cháirez puts Gianni Vazquez to sleep with a triangle, and the ref simply doesn't stop it. Cháirez ends up armbarring an unconscious Vazquez who wakes up in the submission. #Furyfc76 pic.twitter.com/AgcwI2i3ss
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 25, 2023
Fury FC and The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Comment on Friday Night’s Controversy
It was a disgusting display of incompetence by the referee and immediately garnered a significant amount of backlash on social media. Fury FC released an official statement on Facebook, openly berating referee Frank Collazo for failing to protect Gianni Vazquez once he was no longer able to defend himself.
“It is the referee’s job to protect the fighter when the fighter cannot protect him or herself. In last night’s main event, the referee failed to do this. While the job of a referee is one of the hardest to do in this sport, the need for proper and continued training would help to alleviate things like this incident. We do not hire, train or select refs for our shows, but we would be more than willing to lead a revamp and overhaul of the reffing and judging selection and training process.”
It is the referee’s job to protect the fighter when the fighter cannot protect him or herself. In last night’s main…
Posted by Fury Fighting Championship on Saturday, March 25, 2023
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation also commented on the situation, giving a very by-the-book response compared to that of the promotion.
“TDLR is aware of concerns about the officiating in one of last night’s fights,” the statement read. “All TDLR officials receive ongoing training and we monitor each fight for consistency in officiating. Fight officials for each competition are always selected in conjunction with promoters.”
It remains to be seen if the referee in question will face any consequences for his actions or lack thereof.
