Petr Yan Believes the ‘Mark Smith Curse’ Is the Reason Behind Another UFC Disqualification

Former UFC Bantamweight champion, Petr Yan, took to Twitter to share his views on the fight between Randa Markos and Luana Pinheiro. The women’s flyweight fight had ended in disqualification because of a face kick by Markos when Pinheiro was on her knees.

Due to the unfortunate strike, the fight, which was touted to be a tough brawl between two talented fighters, ended in a first-round stoppage. The disqualification took place when the two fighters were tussling on the ground, and while trying to push Pinheiro away, Markos kicked her in the face.

Many fans and critics took to Twitter to comment on the match. ‘No Mercy’ was one of them as he aimed at the referee, Mark Smith. He added a skull emoticon and wrote, “Mark Smith curse.”

Mark Smith is one of the most famous UFC referees, and Yan is someone who caught on to the connection with the referee’s involvement in the aforementioned fight and one of his own fights just under two months back.

Read More: VIDEO: Another Disqualification Stops Fight at UFC Due to Illegal Kick

Mark Smith disqualified Petr Yan at UFC 259

During the UFC 259 match between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling, Smith disqualified Yan following a brutal knee strike. The fourth-round stoppage saw ‘No Mercy surrender his belt and his lengthy unbeaten streak in the UFC.

Mark Smith did not stop the fight instantly. He gave ‘Funkmaster’ the option to clear his head and see if he could continue. However, after some consideration, Smith ended proceedings as it was clear that Sterling would not be able to continue at 100 percent.

After that fight, many fans and critics had criticized Sterling. They claimed that the fighter was faking the pain in order to avoid the fight. Now, the same accusations are being thrown at Pinheiro after she won her fight against Markos via disqualification.

It is unclear to the fans if the fighters involved were faking their pain, but the referee is not wrong in acting in the best interests of the fighter. What did you make of tonight’s stoppage at the UFC Apex?