Dec 15 Update 2 Cents on Holst Vs Khatib Decision

Ok folks, not to stir up more controversy or anything, but I am going to have to retract my initial comments on air in review of this event when I said that Mark Holst clearly won this fight. Let me start by saying that I believe Mark Holst was winning this fight, and had a very good chance of ending the fight had the referee not called it. However, if you look at a video I found on YouTube, there are two key points that fight fans should look at after the 4:21 mark when Holst landed a 2nd knee that dropped Nabil Khatib:

1 - Nabil Khatib was in the process of standing right back up after he was dropped

2 - After Khatib was brought right back down when Mark jumped behind him to lock in the choke, Khatib never tapped. In fact, the referee had called the fight the second the choke was applied, without giving Nabil a chance to defend it, or tap.

Now, there are few key points to remember in Mark Holst's favor

1 - There are no standing 8 counts in MMA. So once a fighter in dropped, and the referee sees that fighter be put into a submissive position immediately after, you can see why he would stop the fight

2 - No one was there to see Nabil Khatib's eyes, so if the referee felt that Khatib was out in that moment, it was the right call to make.

Ultimately, I can understand Nabil frustration with the decision. This guy is a true warrior. When he lost to Carlos Newton at W1, he took it like a true professional. No crying, no whining. He was got beat, thanked his fans and his family, and moved on. I think his reaction was normal for a man confident that he was still able to fight, who still never gave up. It's unfortunate that a man who graciously accepted to be in a fight that pitted two local favorites together from rival schools, is now being looked on very negatively by people for his passionate post fight comments. I would love to see a rematch, but not at 155 that was suggested by Mark Holst, at their original fighting weight for Wreck MMA of 170

Tags: Mark Holst \ Nabil Khatib \ Wreck MMA