Referee Stands By As Myanmar Boxer Is Brutally Choked Unconscious In Mixed-Rules Fight

A mixed-rules fight went horribly wrong when a referee stood by and allowed a fighter to remain in a choke hold for far too long.

The bout in question was between Cambodian fighter Namthieu Kun Khmer and Myanmar boxer Joe Phyu at a Mas Fight event at Town Arena in Cambodia on Sunday, May 18. During the contest, Namthieu grabbed Phyu in a standing rear-naked choke and proceeded to render his opponent unconscious. Unfortunately, referee Long Vibol failed to step in in a timely fashion, allowing Namthieu to unnecessarily choke his opponent further.

By the time Vibol called for the stoppage, Phyu was completely out and was allowed to fall to the mat, bashing his head on the canvas.

Check out the clip below:

Renowned ONE Championship referee speaks about controversial mixed-rules fight

Referee Olivier Coste, who has experience officiating mixed-rules fights in ONE Championship, offered his take on the incident.

“Khmer martial arts in an MMA-style fight is not appropriate. I think they want to incorporate MMA-style rules, but the referee lacks knowledge of the sport or of MMA. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen again,” he said on social media.

Myanmar sporting news outlet ANS posted a message addressed to Khov Chhay, the president of the Khmer Boxing Federation, urging him to take disciplinary action against the referee by removing him from his duties as a combat sports official.

“The federation’s working group is currently reviewing the matter,” Chhay told The Phnom Phen Post in response to the controversy.

For those unfamiliar, Kun Khmer is a full-contact combat sport in Cambodia that includes striking, grappling, and clinching. It’s very similar to Muay Thai, but Kun Khmer puts more of an emphasis on elbow strikes and the dynamic surrounding exchanges in the clinch is often different between the two sports.

Essentially, Kun Khmer and the art of eight limbs share a common heritage but have evolved into two distinct styles with unique cultural practices and technical nuances.