Michael David Smith and Dan Herbertson of MMAFighting filed a report from this past weekend’s K-1 event that detailed veteran kickboxer Jerome LeBanner leaving the ring when he was told to fight in overtime against Kyotaro. “Not fair” was LeBanner’s attitude: he believed he had done enough to win.
Smith called the action “disgraceful.” I wouldn’t go that far: while it’s never recommended you leave a fight before it’s been called, the ambiguity that Japanese promotions thrive on would be enough to drive anyone out of the arena and over a cliff. Arbitrary overtime rounds shouldn’t be called in the first place. In K-1’s defense, LeBanner understood the rules (presumably, anyway) when he walked in. If he didn’t like them, he was in the wrong building. And if he was counting on judges to make reasonable calls, he’s in the wrong sport.