The judging and officiating in the combat sports world have been heavily criticized recently.
Earlier this month, mixed martial arts was marred with controversies as some referees and judges across various promotions made questionable decisions that caused a stir among fans.
But this past weekend, a Muay Thai referee changed the story.
A video uploaded by Beyond Kickboxing on Twitter shows the heroic ref saving a fighter from sustaining more damage after a brutal knockout at a Muay Hardcore event.
Nak Muay So Sovarathana viciously sent his opponent named Naymar down the mat with a brutal elbow and referee Sittichai Ineiad quickly came to the rescue as he cushioned the landing of the fallen fighter, which could have resulted to a head injury.
Watch the sequence below:
So Sovarathana with the hellbow knockout against Neymar at todays Muay Hardcore. pic.twitter.com/tBVruqVXEI
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) February 15, 2020
The Muay Thai referee’s heroic save was a breathe of fresh air in the combat sports world after the Ultimate Fighting Championship drew flak last week for some of the controversial results in the UFC 247 pay-per-view event in Houston.
Check out some of the craziest reactions to Ineiad’s heroic move below:
https://twitter.com/enginirjst1/status/1228869381670617089
Start covering Muay Hardcore full time https://t.co/tZmDhYpij6
— Shane Kiely (@shanekse85) February 17, 2020
Serious kudos to this quick-thinking kickboxing referee!
Sittichai Ineiad stopped a fighter's head from hitting the ground after he was knocked out during a Muay Hardcore match in Bangkok…pic.twitter.com/GPR6QfNGrt
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) February 17, 2020
This is from Hardcore Muay Thai on Thai 8. They have a YouTube channel and you can watch it free. It's Muay Thai rules with MMA gloves. So happy they're being recognized! https://t.co/PeUJfVEwXB https://t.co/fShq79ZxcI
— Mark (@dickycabeza) February 17, 2020
This is an unbelievable KO. But I dunno how many times I've squirmed in discomfort seeing a the back of a KOd fighters head bounce off the canvas when the body goes limp. This ref has definitely saved him from extra damage. Would love to see some mma n boxing refs follow suit
— kdocmma (@kdocmma) February 15, 2020
This is the kind of ability UFC refs need
— Brenton Arriaga (@papa_brenton) February 15, 2020
@tristancayzer wow! What move from the ref though to spot his head from bouncing off the canvas
— Eric Bruhns ⚒ (@EricBruhns) February 16, 2020
(Featured Image Source: Twitter/ Beyond Kickboxing)