So to recap.. Johnathan Ivey fakes a heart attack, drops Travis Fulton, proceeds to follow up with GNP… then decides he can’t punch his idol in the face anymore and taps out. #mmathings pic.twitter.com/grK54YhOe0
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 1, 2018
When heavyweight veterans with more than 400 professional fights between them square off, virtually anything is fair game.
At least that seemed to be the case in the heavyweight title bout between Johnathan Ivey and Travis Fulton at Colosseum Combat 45 this past Saturday night in Kokomo, Ind. After Fulton landed a body kick, Ivey briefly acted as though he was experiencing chest pain before going on the offensive. “Big John” then dropped his opponent near the fence and proceeded to unload with a barrage of ground-and-pound from top position.
Fulton defends himself just enough to avoid a stoppage, and eventually Ivey gives up on his assault. After spending a few more moments in Fulton’s guard, Ivey stands up, walks away and taps the mat to concede defeat.
“He doesn’t want to hurt him anymore, is that what happened here?” says one of the announcers calling the fight. “Or is he hurt? He didn’t want to continue.”
Regardless of Ivey’s motivations, it is one of the most bizarre sequences in recent memory – even in a sport known for producing more than its share of unusual moments.
The 42-year-old Ivey has a 41-57 record and has squared off against the likes of Ken Shamrock, Ricco Rodriguez, Dan Severn, Ben Rothwell and Jeremy Horn over the course of a career that began in 1998. Fulton, meanwhile, is a whopping 256-54-10 and has faced the likes of Horn, Severn, Matt Lindland, Ikuhisa Minowa, Heath Herring, Evan Tanner, Forrest Griffin, Joe Riggs, Jason Miller and Andrei Arlovski during that time.
Ivey and Fulton previously locked horns at California Pancration Championships in June 2002, with Fulton winning via first-round kimura.