Referee misjudgments happen in the heat of the moment. Fouls are missed from time to time. But how about a dozen missed illegal knees in a row? That’s a much more rare occurrence but exactly what Troy Gibson experienced in his professional MMA debut.
The bout took place Saturday at Cage Conflict 8, a regional show in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Gibson took on Latvian welterweight Vadim Kolesnikov (0-2).
Midway through Round 1, Gibson secured an advantageous position on the ground. On top in side control, Gibson softened up Kolesnikov with some elbows to the head and punches to the body. In response, Kolesnikov kneed him in the head – over and over. Tens of illegal knees were thrown, with many connecting.
Although experienced referee Peter Lavery took a close look, he did not stop the bout on the first thrown foul – or the second, or third, or fourth, etc. Eventually the blows from the bottom rung Gibson’s bell. He not only lost position but was stunned, reversed, and then once back on the feet, dropped by a big Kolesnikov right hand.
That’s when Lavery intervened and waved off the fight. Kolesnikov walked to the other side of the cage, yelled into the crowd, and then shoved a cut woman who attempted to tend to facial damage.
Troy Gibson was on the receiving end of at least 13 blatantly illegal knees to the head last night at #CageConflict8.
Shocking behaviour from his opponent, and an obviously late reaction from the ref.
A horrific way for Gibson to start his pro career. He deserved better. pic.twitter.com/ahP7jzTpvA
— Andy Stevenson (@andyste123) October 16, 2022
Justice was served in the end. According to Severe MMA reporter Andy Stevenson, Kolesnikov was ultimately disqualified after he turned the tables and scored some stunning strikes.
“Was 2 vs 1 in that cage and we still came out on top,” Gibson wrote Monday in an Instagram post. “Ridiculous but we move on. Thanks for the support folks.”
Neither Kolesnikov nor Lavery have publicly spoken on the unusual ending at the time of publication.
