Here’s something you don’t see very often, an overexcited fighter celebrating an unlikely win on his pro MMA debut by front flipping over his KO’d opponent.
Well, that’s exactly what happened at LFA 36 on Friday night in the heavyweight fight between Drew Chatman and Irvins Ayala, which saw the former disqualified for his bizarre and unsportsmanlike behaviour.
It was Ayala who in fact floored Chatman with a fierce kick to the calf, but as he went in for the finish he was caught off guard with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it knee to the chin, which in turn sent his lights out.
With Ayala out cold and face down on the canvas, an overzealous Chatman had a rush of blood to the head as he decided to celebrate by performing a front flip off his opponents back, much to the shock of everyone in attendance.
The commentator was not impressed either: “he’ll get suspended for that”. And that turned out to be just the case, as Chatman’s win was overturned into a disqualification, with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) suspending the fighter for 90 days.
In the aftermath Chatman told MMA Fighting:
“Normally, I celebrate my fights. If you see all my amateur fights, I’m doing flips, I’m doing cartwheels or whatever the case may be. I didn’t think before I did it. I just jumped and did a flip. So it was almost like subconsciously I did what I normally what I would do celebrating a victory that I normally get.”
Chatman went on to say:
“So, the rules are the rules. And at the end of the day, when you actually look at what took place, I’m OK with having my pay taken away. I’m OK with being suspended 90 days. I’m OK with that. Because you can’t get that back. The video is priceless. I have to look back at that and live with regret every single day.”