Leonardo Barbosa, an MMA fighter for TGFC, has revealed the shocking situation surrounding his recent loss to Ahmed Wali. Barbosa vs Wali was the main event of TGFC’s 11th event, which took place in Kabul, Afganistan on February 11th. Barbosa lost the fight in the second round via knees to the body. However, Barbosa’s reaction to the finishing blow seemed bizarrely excessive.
TGFC 11 main event:
Ahmed Wali Hotak finishes Leonardo Barbosa with a knee to the body in the 2nd. Quite the reaction. Afghanistan crowd goes insane. #TGFC11 pic.twitter.com/dDsURSLVgs
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 11, 2021
Traumatic Behind-The-Scenes Details
Barbosa later revealed, in an interview with MMA Fighting, that a man armed with a gun had entered his locker room before the fight began. The man supposedly shouted at Barbosa in his native language, acting in an extremely aggressive manner. Despite this, Barbosa continued to make the walk to the fight. However, when he saw the man once again, this time in the crowd mid-fight, it became too much.
“He kept screaming, extremely aggressive,” he said. “He got closer to the cage in between rounds and started saying something similar to what he had said in the locker room, only more aggressive. I was winning the fight, I won the first round well, my opponent had a broken nose and needed surgery the next day, and I think I would have won, but I felt unable to do anything in that fight.”
“And then that happened. I threw the fight,” he admits, “I came back different for the second round, a series of things were going through my mind. I have a son, I have a family. Him killing me wasn’t my biggest fear because the repercussion would be huge, but, I don’t know, people there are a bit complicated. It’s complicated, really. That region is still at war, there are terrorist attacks going on and people is kind of used to that now. A car exploded while I was there and they simply isolated the street, the army put a detour to another street and that’s it.”
“I had no documents in an unfamiliar country,” he said. “I never thought I’d go through a situation like this and I hope never to go through again. My biggest fear was something happening and getting trapped there. I would do something to fight back and defend my life, right? I don’t know their laws. The first thing that came to my head was the fear of not being able to leave that place, of being arrested for some reason or going to a hospital without my documents, only the immigration paper”(via MMA Fighting).
A Rematch Still An Option
Considering the situation, TGFC have offered Leonardo Barbosa a rematch against Wali. The Brazilian fighter appears happy to accept, although he will ensure the conditions will be different this time.
“I’d go with a different structure this time, with my cornermen and everything else,” Barbosa said. “I’ll never travel again without my cornermen.”“This rematch will be different,” he added. “I believe I can win this fight with ease, to tell you the truth” (via MMA Fighting).
Hopefully, the situation will force TGFC to increase security in their future events. The drama and controversy around this fight will no doubt increase the interest in the rematch, which is scheduled for May. This event will supposedly take place in Dubai. Many fights have been branded with the label of being ‘fixed. However, This has been one of the most extreme examples in recent memory.
