In a turn of events that has the MMA community buzzing, Kurtis Ellis experienced one of the sport’s most unusual endings when his finger became trapped in the cage during a match against Brandon “Blade” Evans at APFC 16.
The incident occurred during the third round as Evans was pressing forward aggressively. Suddenly, the action halted when Ellis’s finger became lodged between sections of the cage mesh. Unable to free himself, Ellis verbally indicated he could not continue, resulting in the referee declaring Evans the winner by verbal submission.
“In all my years in mixed martial arts, that is a first,” remarked one commentator during the broadcast. “We’ve seen it happen in the UFC with a toe, I believe, a welterweight. I can’t remember his name here.”
The replay showed the unusual sequence as Evans closed distance, with Ellis’s finger becoming trapped in what analysts described as “a place where they don’t necessarily belong.”
“Man, it is what it is. I don’t know what we call it. I don’t know how we got there, but he’s not necessarily grabbing. His fingers are in the wrong spot. It looked like he got stuck,” the commentary team noted during the replay.
The decision has sparked debate among MMA fans and experts alike. Many questioned the referee’s handling of the situation, suggesting that a temporary pause to free Ellis’s finger followed by a restart would have been more appropriate.
“Why not just pause the action, get his finger out, and restart the fight?” questioned one MMA observer on social media, while another noted, “He never screamed anything other than my hand is stuck. He did not say he couldn’t fight.”
Others pointed to precedent in the sport, with one fan recalling, “Jake Ellenberger lost to Masvidal when he got his foot stuck in between the cage and the mat in UFC. Weird stuff.”
Some viewers did praise Evans for showing “good sportsmanship and understanding of the situation” despite the unconventional victory.
The extraordinary finish will likely be discussed in MMA circles for years to come as one of the sport’s most unusual endings, adding another unexpected chapter to the ever-unpredictable world of mixed martial arts.
