UFC bantamweight Melissa Gatto may have made a piece of history with her third round TKO win last night in Vegas.
The former flyweight made a move up after suffering two defeats on the bounce, and looked to be in control of rival Tamires Vidal in the early stages of their fight. Then in the third round she managed to land a very bizarre stoppage that had fans and pundits baffled.
Gatto and Vidal’s bout was a battle of Brazil as the pair squared off on the prelims of UFC Vegas 92 at a near-empty Apex last night. And despite being a slight favourite for the bout, many tipsters were backing the former flyweight’s misfortunes to continue against her countrywoman.
Melissa Gatto wins by TKO with rare chest punch stoppage
After a relatively one-sided showing from Gatto, the third round began with an exchange between the pair. However, after a seemingly innocuous shot just under the neck of Vidal, the Brazilian turned away and called for a timeout, as if she had been hit with an illegal blow.
But Gatto had prepared for such a potential outcome, and refused to stop until referee Chris Tognoni stepped in and called the fight a TKO. Commentators were initially confused by the call, before noticing that it was a punch to the chest that had caused the stoppage.
The fight took place in the infamous UFC Apex facility, which means there were almost no fans in attendance. But it meant that footage could clearly show Tognoni explaining what had happened to a Nevada commission official.
Referee confirms Melissa Gatto’s TKO was a legal punch
Such an instance is unique to women’s sport, but despite the seemingly obvious difference in effectiveness, you rarely see the type of punch Gatto threw. And while the area is more sensitive for female fighters than male, the rules around punching anywhere on the torso are universal.
As such, referee Chris Tognoni was correct to stop the fight if such a punch renders Vidal unable to defend herself. He could be heard explaining the decision to somebody from the commission after the fact on the broadcast.
“She got hit in the boob,” Tognoni could be heard saying. “She turned away and it was not an illegal shot. She got hit in the breast, which is not an illegal shot and she can not turn away.”
After hearing the explanation, commentator Dominick Cruz then noted that “it’s a vulnerable spot.” Play-by-play guy Brendan Fitzgerald added: “If you turn away and don’t intelligently defend yourself, the referee is there to stop the fight. There’s nothing, seemingly, illegal about that strike.”
Cruz also made the point that “Only ladies around the world will know what that actually feels like, but it doesn’t look like it feels nice, let’s put it that way. That’s what got the job done so maybe we’ll see more chest punches in the women’s division going forward, you never know.”
Melissa Gatto claims she planned bizarre chest punch TKO
Speaking to the media shortly after her win, Melissa Gatto claimed that she had studied the tape on Vidal and noticed she had been granted a break in play during a previous fight for the same punch. As such, she targeted the area for action.
“I watched the last fight of her and always she feels that,” Gatto told reporters in Las Vegas. “And she always tries to stop the fight, but the referee said to me, ‘Don’t stop. You go.’ And I go and I finish, I get my victory.”
Gatto reiterated her point later, and noted that she obsessively watches tape of any opponent she fights. “I watch all of my fights, all of my opponents’ fights,” she added. “Every day. Every day, every time.”