MMA fans missed one heck of a fight card if they didn't tune in to ONE 166 on Friday morning. The card took place in Qatar at the Lusail Sports Arena. It played host to three title fights and plenty of combat sports action in various types of disciplines.
But the card saw several WTF moments, some good, some bad. Here at three of the biggest moments you need to know even if you couldn't catch the full card.
There were two back-to-back DQ wins
Arjan Bhullar gets a red card for inactivity in the third round with 45 seconds to go.
— Nicolas Atkin (@nicatkinONE) March 1, 2024
He had already received two yellow cards in the second round.
Amir Aliakbari wins by DQ.@sportskeedaMMA #ONEChampionship #ONE166 pic.twitter.com/j6XwWW0HHM
ONE Championship's ruleset calls for red and yellow cards and immediate disqualifications in some cases. Both of those came into play at ONE 166. Unfortunately both of these happened in back to back fights setting a weird tone for the night.
First, former champion Arjan Bhullar was disqualified for "timidity" essentially because it was deemed he wasn't fighting enough. Both fighters were given yellow cards and warned by referee Herb Dean but after Amir Aliakbari tried to engage, Bhullar did not. Dean flagged him with a second yellow card. Neither of the warnings increased his actiona and a red card was given therefore the fight was stopped and Aliakbari was declared the winner.
The next DQ came just one fight later but under much scarier circumstances.
The next fight was the strawweight championship between champion Jarred Brooks and challenger Joshua Pacio. In under a minute, Pacio was tossed onto his head by Brooks and knocked completely unconscious. Unfortunately for the champion, the move was illegal as all spikes are not allowed and he was disqualified. Pacio was announced the winner and the new champion.
Unbelievable scenes!
— ONE Championship on SCMP (@scmpmartialarts) March 1, 2024
Joshua Pacio wins via DQ after being spiked on his head by Jarred Brooks. The Monkey God left devastated.
Trilogy surely needed...#ONE166 pic.twitter.com/FpCB6L9Kpw