MMA fighters ignore ref's stoppage to keep brawling

Two MMA fighters have been banned for a year after ignoring a referee’s stoppage to continue thumping each other at a Brazilian event last weekend.

Imortal FC flyweight competitors Joao Elias and Walter Martins were told to stop so a doctor could check on a cut to Elias’s face.

But they refused, coming together with the ref’s back turned.

The official made his way between the two fighters but to little avail as Martins swung a high kick around the man in the middle.

Imortal president Stefano Sartori jumped into the cage alongside members from both fighters’ teams, with the fight soon called a no contest.

And it took just a couple of days for Elias and Martins to be sanctioned.

“I would like to apologize in the name of Imortal FC and reiterate that we do not agree with unsportsmanlike attitudes in our events,” Sartori said.

“Both athletes were disqualified from the fight, received a fitting contractual (financial) penalty and also a 12-month hook from any event promoted by Imortal FC.”