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Thai Boxing Referee Was Praised After Stopping KO'd Fighter Hitting His Head

Thai Boxing Referee Was Praised After Stopping KO'd Fighter Hitting His Head

He made sure there weren't further issues for Neymar Paeminburee after he'd be knocked out cold on his feet by a big elbow.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Muay Thai referee Sittichai Ineiad became an internet sensation after being praised for making sure fighter Neymar Paeminburee didn't smack his head on the canvas.

Neymar was fighting So Sovarathana in Cambodia in their Muay Thai fight in February when Sovarathana landed a big elbow with just over a minute left of the second round.

The strike instantly knocked Neymar out and he looked to be crashing towards the mat when the referee threw himself down and wrapped his arm around the downed fighter to make sure he didn't suffer damage on impact.

UFC and MMA journalist Ariel Helwani was amongst those that praised Ineiad for his actions in potentially reducing any further damage to the fighter.

And it looks like that referee wasn't the only one making sure the fighters were okay on the night, with refere Rojjanawat Somsri attempting a similar feat, although he couldn't quite save the fighter.

More refereeing like that and less refs letting fights go on too long would make boxing, MMA and other fight sports far easier to watch.

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Topics: kickboxing, MMA News, Ariel Helwani, MMA