He strangled his rival with an “anaconda” and passed out: the maneuver that sparked controversy in MMA

There were moments of tension in the venue that hosted the event ACA 122 in the city of Minsk (Belarus) after the young fighter Alexander Kovalev obtained his ninth consecutive victory by overcoming his rival Markus Rytohonka with a spectacular submission.

The fight for the feather category lasted just four minutes and ended in the middle of a controversy that revolved around the referee of the fight who, according to the fans, it took a long time to decree the end.

The confrontation between the two was replicated throughout the world through social networks, the product of eye-catching choke that Kovalev applied to the Finn, known as Anaconda-Choke.

Only four minutes of the five agreed for the three rounds of the event’s preliminaries had passed when the 25-year-old got into a floor fight with his rival. After a brief struggle, Kovalev managed to turn him with his back to the mat and wrap his arm around his neck to begin the finishing move.

With that powerful key managed to immobilize Rytohonka’s head and arm that, despite trying, could not get out of the grip. The shot lasted 20 interminable seconds until the judge separated them.

While the Belarusian rose automatically to the cheers of the public, his opponent was knocked unconscious on the canvas. His state aroused concern in the environment until he was finally able to regain consciousness. This detail did not go unnoticed on social networks.

“The fighter’s hand was tight and he couldn’t play. For me, the fighter made his surrender clear several times. What kind of referee is this?”, Considered a fan when he saw the video published by the official account of the company.

“The referee was late, he knocked, he was simply not in a comfortable position,” explained another.

“The judge was very inattentive. He gave up a long time ago, why did the referee overexpose him? ”Asked a third, while a fourth user exclaimed: “The referee is totally incompetent!” In the repetition, some attempts by the Finn for tapas could be appreciated.

Despite the controversy surrounding Kovalev’s victory, the young man was left with his ninth consecutive victory and so far he does not know defeat. Of the nine wins, only 2 were by knockout and 5 by submission; the remaining two were by decision of the judges.