Punching an opponent’s throat is considered illegal as it might be life-threatening for the athlete receiving the blow.
But in this fight between Bekbolot Abdylda Uulu and Ibrahim Aslan Sezer, it was considered legal.
The fight took place on the main card of Alash Pride 74 in Turkestan, Kazakhstan. The main event was a flyweight title bout between Teymur Zhaparov against Intizor Farmonboev. The fight between Uulu and Sezer served as the co-main event.
Prior to the fight, Uulu was 18-12 while Sezer was seeking to get the first win of his pro career. The two are fighting in the lightweight division.
A minute into the fight, Sezer was still bombarding Uulu with kicks to the legs and body. But in a split second, Uulu landed a hook to Sezer’s throat that left him agonizing in pain.
Uulu initially tried to ground and pound his Turkish counterpart but the referee stopped the bout. While Sezer, who is still holding his throat in agony, quickly receives medical support.
Uulu then announced as winner by first round TKO.
However, Uulu’s win sparked controversy among the MMA community as many believed that the move is illegal.
It was later confirmed that Uulu’s win was ruled legal considering that he didn’t intentionally hit Sezer on the throat. For the punch to be illegal, Uulu would’ve had to physically lift Sezer and hit him on the throat.
Uulu improved his record to 19-12 making two victories in a row. He’s coming off a KO win against Askhat Akimov on Alash Pride 73 in March prior to the Sezer fight.
It’s unclear what’s next for Sezer, he fell to 0-2 after being submitted by Nursultan Askerov in the Kadyrov Fighting League in February.
In the main event that night, Teymur Zhaparov successfully finished Farmonboev by TKO to snatch the flyweight title.