A Bad Ref or a Dirty Fighter? Should KJ Noons Have Been Disqualified?
By: Oliver Saenz Posted On: August 23, 2010 at 2:30pm
If the recent Strikeforce: “Houston” event had lacked the Karl James Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel fight, the only thing even remotely controversial to come out of that show would have been Ronaldo Souza getting the decision victory over Tim Kennedy in a very close five-round war. Instead, we received not one but two moments of controversy, both at the hands (and feet) of “KJ” Noons. I don’t think anyone can dispute the fact that Noons was the better fighter, but I think the way in which he won is open to debate. I even think that there is some merit to the belief that Noons should have been disqualified for his actions.
First, let me make one thing clear: KJ Noons is a great fighter, and Jorge Gurgel is an idiot for trying to stand with him. The stand-up game has never, ever been Gurgel’s strong suit, while KJ Noons has a legitimate pro boxing record of 12-2, with five wins by KO. In professional Mixed Martial Arts, Noons has eight (T)KO’s to his credit. Clearly this is a man that can knock your head off, and Gurgel supposedly wanted to stand with him because he felt tired of relying on his bread-and-butter Brazilian Jui Jitsu game and instead wanted to “have fun” in however many fights he has left. But it’s the way that Noons took care of Gurgel that is cause for concern.
For example, I don’t believe for a second that the after-the-bell looping hook that floored Gurgel at the end of the first round couldn’t have been avoided, which is what Noons said when asked about it. The general consensus for those in agreement with Noons is that he was already in motion by the time the bell rang, and couldn’t have pulled his punch. And I’d like to call foul on that immediately. KJ Noons is an excellent striker, and an excellent striker can pull a punch in a split-second. I think it was well within Noons’ ability to stop that punch from connecting. Noons simply wanted to end the round in a big way, even if the punch occurred after the bell, and it was clear that Gurgel was dead on his feet from the moment he got back into his corner. For knocking an opponent senseless after the bell, even inadvertently, that should have at least ended the fight in a No Contest.
But Gurgel just wouldn’t stay down, and in round 2, he received even more punishment. Here is where I think Noons should have been immediately disqualified: he threw a blatant illegal knee to the head of Gurgel while Gurgel was down and the referee had already stopped the fight. No matter what else, that should be grounds for an immediate disqualification. If the illegal kick was thrown after the fight had been waved off, which those who support Noons say, that just means that Noons once again threw a blow after he was supposed to stop. If anything, the situation is even worse if Noons threw the knee once the fight was already over: getting caught up in the heat of the moment and throwing a blow when it’s all already over is what got Paul Daley permanently exiled from the UFC.
And finally, I think the referee does deserve some of the blame, as a few have pointed out, but I also believe that the poor excuse for refereeing shown in this fight is no excuse for the classless, dirty fighting of KJ Noons. The referee should have been close enough to the action to both prevent the hook in Round 1 and the knee in Round 2. This referee seemed tentative to do anything at all, and should be justly criticized for his inaction. But that does not simply wipe the slate clean and absolve KJ Noons. Noons should have been disqualified, but coming from a promotion that basically gave a slap on the wrist to a group of men that led a gang-style beatdown on one individual, I honestly don’t expect this situation to be resolved anytime soon.
And what do you think, fans and friends? Should Noons have been DQ’d? And if not, why not?
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Comments
Finally, someone I can agree with. How was that fight not stopped after the first round? Noons was still dodging punches as the bell sounded. It was not until after the bell that he raised up and threw the left hand and immediately turned toward his corner. It was a clear violation to everyone watching including the ref who said something to Noons as he walked away. Gurgel’s condition at that point was such that had it been before the bell, Noons would have been announced the winner. It was a clear violation followed by a total disregard for the safety of the fighter, the rules of the sport and the reputation of the sport. This fight is a no contest after one round. Furthermore, if you watch the slow-motion replay, you can see the ref react to the bell and move toward Noons before the punch was thrown. Why then was a professional fighter with the experience and reflexes of Noon not able to stop the punch. If you look even closer in the background of both replays you can even see the guy who opens the cage door pulling the lock on the door and opening it as Noons throws the punch.
The second round is nothing more than a continuation of the end of the first round and never should have taken place. Gurgel’s reflexes are noticeably slower and were immediately taken advantage of. The ref starts to do the right thing in closing in on the action to either stop or be in position to stop the fight. After Noons hesitates and looks at the ref he goes back to work until the ref reaches in to stop the fight at which point Noons throws a “knee” to the head of the dazed and nearly prone Gurgel. The strike could not have been more illegal. I saw the strike as more of a soccer kick than a knee but regardless it was illegal for two reasons. The most obvious of which is the fact that Gurgel was sitting on his ass while leaning on one hand. The other reason being that the inept or slow reflex endowed ref had already started to push noons away. The entire situation was a complete debacle from Noons inability to control his strikes to the officiating all the way to the ridiculous fumbling commentators. How is it possible for such an obviously illegal set of events to end in a win for the perpetrator with not a word from those in control?!
I’m a huge boxing fan, not a big mma follower but really open to it. I wanted to watch this kid KJ Noons especially when I heard Gurgel wanted to stand w/ him. My observation, at the end of round 1 KJ wasn’t being hurt buy Gurgel flurry, he was low and just came up with a big hook, I believe he could have pulled back a bit especially when you know the round is about to be over. In round 2 when KJ put him down w/ the Right hand/Hook he was already looking to the ref to stop it, so why the knee? He could have touched him up until the ref stopped it. Maybe just in the heat of action?..Don’t think he’s dirty probably got caught up mentally.
Exactly right – what KJ Noons did with the knee after the ref had stopped the fight was inexcusable. It may have been in the heat of the moment and he didn’t see the ref call the fight…but that doesn’t matter, as an illegal knee is illegal, no matter when you throw it.
So yeah – I totally agree; he should have been disqualified. Since it may be too late to recall the win, the second option is for Strikeforce to lay a heavy fine on Noons – I’m thinking that might help to send a message.
By the way, I’m in TN, and have spoken to the powers-that-be out here, and there were some serious consequences and actions that were taken against the leaders of that “gang” fight you mentioned. I think Strikeforce left it to the AC and probably felt their punishment was adequate, which is why they didn’t take action. I’m not saying that was okay, just mentioning how it went down.
So lets get this straight, you clowns think that KJ should have been DQed and Gurgel given the win? Are you F*@#ing CRAZY?! Gurgel had no shot in this fight, especially with his game plan. Take a point from KJ, sure thats fine. Ruin his career for a shot a split second after the bell, overkill. Comparing that punch to the Paul Daley incident is ignorant too. How can you compare a stalk and cheap punch 30 seconds after the bell to a punch that was in midair when the bell rang?
As much as I love the fans in MMA, I can’t help but feel terrible for the fighters that they have to endure these early years of uneducated media articles by fans that are WWE crossovers. At least in boxing, the media is educated enough to provide in depth analysis accurately.
Before saying what KJ could have done or should have done, try educating yourself by going to the gym and taking a few boxing, muay thai or jiu jitsu classes to be more familiar with the sport. Coming out and saying what he could have done would be like him replying with punctuation or grammar corrections to your article. You dont know what he could have done because you have never been in a cage and quite possibly never even been in any kind of fight.
Have some respect for these guys that train the asses off day in and day out to provide entertainment to us fans. The last thing they deserve is to be criticized by the press that is far from being competent enough to provide expert analysis. Instead, try educating yourself and understanding the intricacies of every aspect of the sport including the striking. Only then will you be capable of telling the fans what the fighter “could have” or “should have” done.
@James
You’re an idiot….
Do the fighters a favor and keep your thoughts to yourself….
I do not think Noons could stop the punch at the end of the round, accidental foul, you are right it could have been called a no contest or they could have given Gurgel as much time as he needed to recover. The next round was complete confusion. After Noons knocked him down Gurgel was toast, he looked at the referee and I think lost his focus, when it was not stopped I think Noons just instintivally started fighting and threw the illegal knee almost subconsciously. Was very similar to a UFC fight between Matt Hamill and John Jones. Jones beat hell out of Hamill for the whole fight and then inexplically threw an illegal knee just like Noons did. He was disqualified, but his domination of the fight was so complete that it really did not hurt him at all, same thing should have been called here, Gurgel wins but I do not think that would have hurt Noons standing in the sport.