There’s a reason you should never turn your back on your opponent in a kickboxing match: You just might get knocked out.
Of course, keep in mind that if you’re the winner here, your perfectly legal but maybe somewhat cheap shot won’t be taken kindly by rowdy ringside spectators.
Which brings us to Saturday’s Glory 42 kickboxing event that descended into what the announcers called “complete mayhem” when that exact thing happened.
It’s unclear what Armenian fighter Harut Grigorian was thinking when he turned his back and walked away from Dutchman Murthel Groenhart. After all, the referee didn’t stop the fight, which means Groenhart had every right to clock an unsuspecting Grigorian from the back, sending the fighter to the ground, where he lay dazed and bloodied.
The action didn’t stop there, however. According to Deadspin, which posted the full video on its site, a pair of spectators entered the ring and started beating up on Groenhart.
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“Someone will be charged with assault and battery, that’s for sure,” one of the fight callers declared on the broadcast, which aired on ESPN2.
It didn’t take long before the ring filled with security and medical staff — the former to keep the attackers at bay and the latter to attend to Grigorian’s busted head.
One might think there would be some hard feelings between the fighters after the contentious ending, which Glory’s website officially marked as a win for Groenhart. But according to the Dutchman, it’s all good.
Attached to a photo of the two men Groenhart posted to Instagram, he wrote on the caption after the fight that he and Grigorian are fine now “cause we are sportsmen and we respect each other.”
He added, addressing his opponent, “Thanks for the fight.”
Grigorian, who has now lost his last two fights, has not publicly commented since the loss.
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