The Martinez camp’s formal complaint with the Florida Athletic Commission requests for the first round TKO loss to Oussama Assli be overturned to a “no contest” due to an alleged eye poke that the referee did not acknowledge during the fight on December 19
Michel “La Furia” Martinez’s camp has filed an official complaint with the Florida Athletic Commission, requesting that the Spanish fighter’s first round (1:06) TKO loss to Oussama Assli at Karate Combat 51, be overturned to a “no contest” due to an eye poke foul that Martinez allegedly was the victim of during the bout in Fort Lauderdale on December 19.
Fajador.co previously reported that the 35-year-old Martinez, an undefeated (4-0) Combate Global professional MMA fighter who was making his Karate Combat rules debut, and his trainer, Jose Jiménez, planned to file a grievance after the referee in the contest called off the fight in the middle of a barrage of punches that Assli of Morocco unloaded while standing over Martinez, who was curled up on the mat.
Martinez and Jiménez insist that Martinez was poked in the eye by Assli earlier in the fight and, as a result, lost his vision, thereby rendering Martinez unable to compete with his vision compromised.
Jiménez issued the following statement in his complaint:
My name is Jose Jiménez, a professional MMA coach. On December 19th, my fighter, Michel Martínez, “La Furia” Martínez, competed in Karate Combat in Miami, Florida.
During his fight, several issues arose. The first problem occurred when the referee called to stop the fight (stop), yet the opponent continued striking Michel. After this, the opponent was only verbally warned by the referee.
The fight resumed, and Michel landed a strike. His opponent then grabbed him in a clinch. During this exchange, the opponent poked Michel in the eye with the clear intention of causing harm (this incident is recorded). They fell to the ground, and once again, the referee stopped the fight (stop), yet the opponent continued striking Michel.
Michel lost vision in one eye, and the referee stood them back up without taking any action regarding his condition. The fight resumed while Michel was unable to see at all. He grabbed his opponent to prevent further strikes, as he had no vision. They fell to the ground again, and despite the referee calling stop because striking was not allowed in that situation, the opponent continued hitting Michel.
Michel protested about the strikes, but the referee ended the fight as if my fighter had been legitimately finished.
I urge you to review the footage of the fight, which is available online, and carefully assess how the situation was handled. This is not only about the potentially serious injury to Michel’s eye but also about the damage to his honor as a fighter.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Sincerely,
José Jiménez
The video below that Fajador.co obtained and disclosed in its previous report on the matter shows Assli’s fingers making contact with Martinez’s eyes while the two were clinched:
A call Fajador.co placed to the Tallahassee-based Florida Athletic Commission was not answered.
Fajador.co will continue to monitor and update you as this situation unfolds.
