Saturday night's Strikeforce MMA show on Showtime got off to a fast-paced, hard-hitting, hair-pulling start as Brett Rogers knocked out Abongo Humphrey with a series of vicious knees in the second round.
Yes, I said hair pulling. Humphrey wears his hair in long dreadlocks, and three times during the first round, Rogers grabbed that hair. That's a foul, and referee Herb Dean (who also wears his hair in long dreadlocks) warned Rogers twice before taking a point away. In fairness to Rogers, it appeared that at least one of the hair pulls was unintentional, as a result of getting his hands tangled in Humphrey's hair.
But Humphrey didn't like it. During the fight microphones picked him up telling Dean, "He keeps pulling my hair."
"I know. I know," Dean replied.
But in the second round, Rogers managed to work the Muay Thai clinch without grabbing Humphrey's hair, and it turned into a brutal beating, as Rogers repeatedly punched and kneed Humphrey in the face, eventually knocking him cold and leaving his nose a bloody mess.
Yes, I said hair pulling. Humphrey wears his hair in long dreadlocks, and three times during the first round, Rogers grabbed that hair. That's a foul, and referee Herb Dean (who also wears his hair in long dreadlocks) warned Rogers twice before taking a point away. In fairness to Rogers, it appeared that at least one of the hair pulls was unintentional, as a result of getting his hands tangled in Humphrey's hair.
But Humphrey didn't like it. During the fight microphones picked him up telling Dean, "He keeps pulling my hair."
"I know. I know," Dean replied.
But in the second round, Rogers managed to work the Muay Thai clinch without grabbing Humphrey's hair, and it turned into a brutal beating, as Rogers repeatedly punched and kneed Humphrey in the face, eventually knocking him cold and leaving his nose a bloody mess.
Strikeforce Photos
Jeff Chiu, AP
Tom Casino, Strikeforce
Tom Casino, Strikeforce
Tom Casino, Strikeforce
Jeff Chiu, AP
Jeff Chiu, AP
Tom Casino, Strikeforce
Jeff Chiu, AP
Tom Casino, Strikeforce
Jeff Chiu, AP