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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
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One of the arguments being used by the Wyoming commission regarding Friday night's RFA bout between Matt Manzanares and Junior Maranho was that Maranhao was alright to continue after passing out on his stool in between the fourth and the fifth rounds. They make that claim while falsely stating he was examined by the doctor in between rounds, despite video evidence to the contrary.
Now, Maranhao himself is trying to quell controversy with his take on the situation, but he's not helping his case with his own false recollection of exactly what transpired.
"It probably looked shocking for some, but it was kind of normal to me. I know that that image is impressive, but I was fine," Maranhao said in an interview with Guilherme Cruz at MMAFighting.com, arguing that it was the referees fault for how he felt at the end of the round. "I was in that triangle for a long time. The referee told us to stop but then he let the fight continue, and that was when [Manzanares] locked the triangle. I was dizzy [when the round ended]. When I went back to my corner to sit down, I kind of missed the stool and fell with my face on the ground. My corners stood me back up and I was okay. I was dizzy, that's it. It may look that I was out, but that's not what happened."
"I came back and I won the fifth round, and I don't understand the reason for this controversy. I know that the image is shocking, but we've seen worse things in the UFC, guys that go out and get back. I think that the doctors made the right call. I think I would have gone crazy if they had stopped the fight."
A major problem is his recollection - or lack thereof - of how that really happened. He didn't "miss" the stool; he was sitting down on the stool when he slid off and face planted. And he was out for a second or two before coming to. That's why there's been outrage.
To further that, he was asked about when he was checked by doctors, and didn't remember that the doctor had come into the cage in between rounds.
"They came in between the rounds and asked if I was okay," Maranhao said, correcting himself after asking his trainers during the interview. "And right after the event, the commission and the doctors did all the exams as well. I saw that some people are trying to blame the commission, the promoters or even my coaches, so I'm really upset about it. I want to make clear that nothing happened. It's a mistake [to blame them], and it can hurt us."
"Everybody saw how the fifth round was. I won the fight, no doubt about it, but they took my title because of that thing. I didn't lose that fight, and I already asked for a rematch. I want to fight him again as soon as possible. I'm ready to fight again and prove that I didn't lose that fight."
PENICK'S ANALYSIS: I want to make this very clear - it is not a mistake in any way, shape, or form to blame the commission and Maranhao's coaches for what happened Friday night. This is the very reason fighters need to be protected and saved from themselves. He doesn't remember what happened clearly, and it's as if he and the Wyoming commission arguing that everything was on the up and up have no idea that there is video evidence showing their claims to be false. Of course Maranhao wants to say he was fine and it was right for him to continue, a fighter doesn't want to have the fight taken out of his or her hands. However, in a situation like this, the corner and the doctor had a responsibility to protect him from himself, and they didn't.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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