Referee gets dropped by heavyweight kickboxer whilst trying to separate fighters

19 June 2023 , 09:53

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The two fighters face off during the title bout (Image: @GLORY_WS/Twitter)

A referee was accidentally knocked down by heavyweight kickboxer Antonio Plazibat during a fight at Glory Collision 5.

Croatian kickboxer Plazibat was in action over the weekend as he fought Tariq Osaro in Rotterdam, Holland for the interim Glory heavyweight title. Plazibat lost the fight as he was stopped in the fifth round by his teammate Osaro, but the heavyweight almost scored a knockout of his own earlier in the fight.

As referee Edward Strijkert stepped in to separate the two heavy hitters when the bell sounded at the end of the second round, Plazibat threw an overhand right that accidentally landed on the chin of Strijkert, instead of his opponent. Strijkert dropped to his knees after absorbing the heavy punch but got back to his feet just moments later.

The ringside doctor took a close look at Strijkert in between rounds and opted it was best to replace him with a new referee. Fans were full of praise for Strijkert online as one user wrote: "Damn respect that man, he just took a big punch from Plazibat." A second comment read: "Ate that shot clean, what a chin on the ref."

"He went above and beyond and actually took that shot well," a third user wrote. "The referee gave the best performance of this fight. What a big disappointment," a fourth user added before a final comment read: "Protect your self at all times, give that man a raise!"

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Osaro is now unbeaten in four fights following his win against Plazibat, who will miss out on a shot against Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven after his latest defeat. Verhoeven was scheduled to defend his title against Plazibat earlier this year, but the Dutchman was forced out of the fight due to a knee injury.

"Plazibat did an awesome job, I appreciate him a lot for the fight. I can’t put it into words. I’m destined for greatness, I’m here to stay," Osaro said before warning Verhoeven: "[Rico] get as ready as possible, I am coming for the gold one."

Harry Davies