There was some controversy surrounding Bellator 207‘s co-main event last night (Fri. October 12, 2018). Roy Nelson shared the cage against fellow finisher Sergei Kharitonov. During the fight, Kharitonov hit Nelson with a pair of illegal knees while his hands were on the canvas.
Nelson dropped to canvas and rolled over, while the referee pulled Kharitonov aside and took a point away. While the doctor was examining Nelson, who would go on to continue fighting, referee Dan Miragliotta apparently told the doctor the knees ‘weren’t that hard.’ Nelson would go on to be finished by Kharitonov, ironically, with a knee.
Here’s how “Big Country” detailed the situation to MMA Junkie after Bellator 207:
“He pretty much told the doc they weren’t that hard,” Nelson said. “I was pretty much telling him, ‘I got hit with two illegal knees.’ We actually talked in the back and he actually explained the new rules here where you have to have two fists down, not one.
“I had one fist down and got hit in the head, I put two fists down and got hit in the head, then I put a knee down and got hit in the head – I kind of went through the whole pattern to make sure the ref could do his job.
“Dan Miragliotta was saying, they weren’t that hard. Dan said they weren’t. That’s what they told the doc. I kind of went off that, so that’s why I ended up continuing.”
What do you make of the illegal knees Nelson ate during his fight with Kharitonov?
