City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman is surprised by the amount of criticism that Dan Hooker’s third-round loss to Edson Barboza has received.
During the third round of the lightweight bout, commentator and UFC champion Daniel Cormier urged the fight to be stopped as the Brazilian blasted Hooker to the body and attempted to go upstairs to finish the job. In the wake of the bout, Hooker’s corner and the contest’s referee, Rob Hinds, were called into question by fans and media alike for allowing the fight to continue, leading to broader conversations about whose responsibility it is to stop a fight and the danger of praising fighters’ will to continue to wade into battle.