Tag: Edgar Chairez

Gianni Vazquez reveals damage suffered from Texas referee stopping Fury FC 76 fight late

Gianni Vazquez, the MMA fighter on the wrong end of a Texas referee mishap at Fury FC 76, reveals he suffered damage from the non-stoppage.

[autotag]Gianni Vazquez[/autotag], the fighter who was choked unconscious and then submitted with an armbar Friday in Texas, has suffered arm injuries as a result of the sequence.

The bout headlined Fury FC 76 in San Antonio and was officiated by referee Frank Collazo, who did not stop the contest when opponent [autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag] put Vazquez to sleep with a triangle choke. After an elongated period of squeeze and with Vazquez not tapping, Chairez eventually switched to an armbar and torqued. Eventually, Vazquez regained consciousness and tapped – but apparently not before damage was done.

“This is the fight game and is not a game,” Vazquez wrote Saturday on Instagram. “I say if you want to beat me you better gotta put me out cause if not is going to be a long night. I make a mistake and it cost me the fight that I feel I was winning. My opponent took advantage of that and with some stupid referee that didn’t stop the fight when I was out now I have to deal with a potential fracture on my arm and some ligaments damaged too.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqNw-V7sHV2/

The officiating mishap went viral Friday and garnered a lot of attention and comments from members from the fight community around the world. Even UFC president Dana White discussed the sequence at a UFC on ESPN 43 post-fight news conference.

“That’s the kind of stuff that I really, really don’t like, if a guy gets choked unconscious and you don’t know he’s unconscious,” White said. “Everybody has a bad night. Everybody makes mistakes. But if a guy gets choked unconscious and then they pull him into an armbar, I mean, it doesn’t get any worse than that. (Josh Burkman vs. Jon Fitch) was the one I went after Mazzagatti so bad about. … Mazzagatti had no clue. You shouldn’t be reffing if that happens, in my opinion.”

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag], a teammate of Vazquez’s from Team Oyama, was in attendance for the bout. Esparza, too, criticized the way the situation was handled.

“1st his opponent missed weight by 2.5 lbs, then this ref puts his health and safety in jeopardy,” Esparza wrote on Facebook. “What we do is already so dangerous, but it’s the ref’s job to keep us safe. They really messed up big time, shame.”

A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the commission which oversaw the event, Saturday told MMA Junkie the commissioning body was “aware of concerns” pertaining to the incident. There was no mention of disciplinary action and Collazo was permitted to serve as a judge at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 43 event in San Antonio.

Fury FC also issued a statement, in which it openly criticized TDLR for failing to keep their fighters safe. TDLR offered a differing take where it stated the commissions and promotions decide on officials together.

Texas commission, referee under fire after ‘stupidity’ leads to frightening scene with unconscious fighter

Gianni Vazquez’s coach never wants to see Frank Collazo referee again after his apparent gross incompetence at Fury FC 76.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the state’s governing body that oversees combat sports, is under fire in the wake of apparent gross incompetence by a referee at Fury FC 76 in San Antonio.

The incident happened Friday during a competitive flyweight main event between Dana White’s Contender Series veteran [autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag] and [autotag]Gianni Vazquez[/autotag]. In the fourth round, Vazquez took down Chairez but quickly found himself trapped in a triangle choke. Chairez managed to lock it in even tighter and the unconscious Vazquez crashed down to the canvas after about 9 seconds.

Vazquez stopped moving, and it was clear to everyone – except apparently referee Frank Collazo – that he was unconscious. The commentary team of UFC welterweight Alex Morono, Michael Alexander, and Raheel Ramzanali began calling the finish, but Collazo didn’t intervene. He watched closely as chaos ensued, with the cageside broadcast team imploring him to stop the fight while Vazquez was still locked in the triangle choke.

“He’s breathing like he’s out. He’s breathing like he’s asleep. Look at his leg,” said one commentator.

Once Chairez (10-4) transitioned to an armbar, it was clear Vazquez (8-5) was out as he laid there motionless, but Collazo still let the fight go on.

“Frank, he’s out! He’s out!” exclaimed Morono.

“Frank! What. Oh my gosh,” Ramzanali yelled. “Frank, it’s done! Frank, it’s done! What are you doing? It’s done!”

It wasn’t until Vazquez finally regained consciousness and tapped out that Collazo stopped the fight.

‘The only thing these two commission guys deserve is to get fired’

On Saturday, Vazquez’s coach, Colin Oyama, issued a fiery statement condemning Collazo, as well as the TDLR inspector in his corner, whom Oyama said “refused to stop the fight even after he asked him to intervene” and after he threw a bottle into the cage.

Oyama said Vazquez suffered “possible fractures in his elbow joint” after they visited a local hospital.

“This ref needs to lose his job,” Oyama posted on Facebook. “And also the idiot inspector in my corner who refused to stop the fight even after I asked him to intervene and told him that my guy was out. Because of their stupidity of these two, my fighter may have possible fractures in his elbow joint according to the (emergency room) that we went to. It’s always funny how athletic commission are always warning us to act accordingly and show them the respect that they deserve. Respect? The only thing these two commission guys deserve is to get fired.

“I had to watch my kid get his arm snapped off while neither of you did a damn thing. Hell, I even threw a damn water bottle in there to try and stop the fight. Just because you work for the athletic commission doesn’t mean you are above reproach. You both need to be held accountable for your stupidity.”

Fury FC says Collazo failed to protect Vazquez

In statement issued on Facebook, Fury FC expressed disappointment toward Collazo and said he “failed to do” his job properly.

“It is the referee’s job to protect the fighter when the fighter cannot protect him or herself,” the statement read. “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.”

Fury FC added that it had no role in assigning Collazo.

“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,” Fury FC said in its statement.

It’s unclear how many bouts Collazo officiated on Friday. Prior to Fury FC 76, Collazo officiated nine bouts at Fury FC 73 in January.

Commission statement

In a statement to MMA Junkie, TDLR spokesperson Tela Mange issued a statement that seemingly contradicts Fury FC’s claim that the commission alone chose Collazo to referee its main event.

“TDLR is aware of concerns about the officiating in one of last night’s fights. All TDLR officials receive ongoing training and we monitor each fight for consistency in officiating,” Mange said.

“Fight officials for each competition are always selected in conjunction with promoters.”

It remains to be seen what, if any, punishment could come down on Collazo.

The TDLR will be under the spotlight Saturday night as UFC on ESPN 43 takes place at AT&T Center in San Antonio.

UFC officials confirmed to MMA Junkie that Collazo will not referee any of the bouts but will serve as a judge for Andrea Lee vs. Maycee Barber and Daniel Pineda vs. Tucker Lutz.

MMA Junkie’s Matthew Wells and Nolan King contributed to this report.

‘He’s out! He’s out!’: Referee watches as choked-out fighter wakes up to tap from armbar

A referee failed to recognize when a fighter went unconscious, causing a wild scene in the main event of Fury FC 76.

A very bizarre scene unfolded to end Fury FC 76, as a referee severely failed in his duties to protect a fighter.

Dana White’s Contender Series veteran [autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag] and [autotag]Gianni Vazquez[/autotag] were in the fourth round of a competitive flyweight main event bout Friday evening at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio when referee Frank Collazo failed to recognize when a fighter went unconscious.

Vazquez (8-5) completed a takedown on Chairez (10-4), but soon found himself locked in a triangle choke at 3:43. Chairez adjusted to secure the position even further, which prompted Vazquez to attempt to stack his opponent, but even just a couple of seconds later, it was already too late. Chairez hooked the leg, and the unconscious Vazquez crashed down to the canvas about 9 seconds later.

Vazquez wasn’t moving, and the commentary team of UFC welterweight Alex Morono, Michael Alexander, and Raheel Ramzanali began calling the finish as the referee stood closely over the action.

“He’s breathing like he’s out. He’s breathing like he’s asleep. Look at his leg,” said one of the commentators as they began yelling over each other in what quickly turned into a chaotic moment.

Others sitting cageside could be heard screaming and pleading with the referee to stop the fight, as it was clear Vasquez was unresponsive.

Calls of “He’s out! He’s out!” were repeated. Collazo continued to just hover over the fighters, perhaps observing something that nobody else in the arena or watching at home on UFC Fight Pass saw in the moment.

The choke was still locked in as seconds ticked away. With the Collazo still not stopping the action, Chairez opted to transition to an armbar, releasing the triangle choke at 3:15.

“Frank, he’s out! He’s out!” exclaimed Morono.

“Frank! What. Oh my gosh,” said Ramzanali. “Frank, it’s done! Frank, it’s done! What are you doing? It’s done!”

After laying motionless on his back in the armbar for a few more seconds, Vazquez slowly began regaining consciousness. He began to move his left hand, and reached for his right arm which was trapped in the submission hold.

It would be close to another 10 seconds before he tapped out as the referee stood just inches away. The entire time multiple people cageside were screaming and pleading for Collazo to stop the fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 2:04, when Collazo finally stopped the bout.

Watch the incident unfold in the video below (via Twitter):

After being tended to by the ringside doctor and his cornermen, Vasquez returned to the middle of the cage for the reading of the official decision, and appeared to be moving fluidly, aware of the situation.

As a cherry on top of the debacle, the fumbling of events continued when the ring announcer called out the wrong name as the winner.

According to Sherdog, Collazo has refereed 129 fights since 2014, including bouts under the UFC and LFA banners, among other Texas-based promotions.