Promoter explains ‘biggest mismatch in MMA’ history after furious reaction
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Evolution of Combat has apologised after hosting a bout that has been subsequently labeled 'MMA's biggest mismatch'.
An MMA fight that saw Aron Lee and Craig Wood face off in September of last year sparked outrage after footage of the pair in the octagon surfaced online.
Journalist Harry Williams tweeted last week: "Can we please find out who allowed this fight to go ahead? I know there are journeymen, but there’s a line, surely."
A video surfaced of Lee dominating Wood throughout, with the referee stopping the bout only after 15 seconds.
The reaction online was one of shock.
One said: “Must have been an alternate out something, cause that kid literally just covered up at the first opportunity.”
Another wrote: “My first amateur MMA fight was supposed to be against another 0-1 or 0-0 guy at 205. He pulled out at the last minute and they really pushed me to fight a 12-0 Heavyweight who looked every bit like a pro. This definitely happens.”
A third one commented: “I wouldn’t sell this lad fireworks much less sanction him in an MMA fight."
Another joked: “Yo did Ron Weasley legit go the distance with that big dude… hats off to him.”
Now a spokesperson for Evolution of Combat said: "We are aware of the footage and the one image doing the rounds of a particular fight on EoC9
"We wanted to put out a statement to make people aware that this match up does not represent the values of EoC.
"We strive to try and match as evenly matched bouts as possible, as some great encounters have proved on 10 different EoC shows."
Have you seen more of a mismatched fight? Tell us in the comments section.
The statement continued: “This particular show had many last-minute pull-outs. We also had staff shortages. Sometimes using journeyman is the only way a show can still go ahead and we are grateful to them for that as many other promotions are.
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“This particular last-minute replacement was pulled in with less than 24hrs notice, the name used on all run sheets etc was the one given to EOC the evening before. This ensured the Icelandic amateur could still make a showing.
"We as a promotion regret that this matchup happened with such a size discrepancy and looking back would not make the same decision. We can however say that two consenting men chose to step into the octagon to compete and both walked out healthy.
"Since this event, we have ran another event with a different outlook and look to ensure we keep good standards 100% of the time from now on."
- MMA
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