‘He could’ve lost his life’: Fury FC chief Eric Garcia calls for regulatory accountability after horrific end to fight

Eric Garcia has seen a lot in his 14 years as a fight promoter. There have been issues with early stoppages and bad scorecards, sure. But what Garcia saw at his own event, Fury FC 76 in San Antonio, was on a different level.

Referee Frank Collazo is a regular for events in southern parts of Texas, Garcia said. Up until Friday, Garcia said everything was as it should be.

“I’ve really never had an issue with him,” Garcia recently told MMA Junkie. “I’ve never had a problem with him. He’s a super nice guy. He’s easy to talk to. He’s normally in there doing his job.”

However, as Garcia watched his main-event title fight Friday play out between Edgar Chairez and Gianni Vazquez, that was not the case. Garcia said he was just as stunned as anyone with the officiating (or lack thereof) from Collazo, who acted in a way that UFC president Dana White referred to as something that “doesn’t get any worse than that.”

Vazquez was choked unconscious with a triangle, but Collazo did not stop the fight. Chairez continued to squeeze, but eventually switched to an armbar. Vazquez laid there motionless for several moments before waking up with his arm torqued, and he eventually tapped, at which point a stoppage finally came.

“From where I was sitting, it looked like (Vazquez) started to go out,” Garcia said. “I could see him moving a little bit, so I’m like, ‘Maybe he’s not out.’ Then you kind of see him collapse. You know he’s out. So now I’m like, ‘OK, what’s going on?’ I’ve got Brandon Moreno sitting behind me. I’ve got Sean Shelby sitting behind me. (Manager) Jason House is sitting behind me. I’ve got my ring announcer right next to me. I’ve got my matchmaker Rich Burmaster on the camera stand shooting pictures.

“I stand up and I start screaming, like, ‘Hey, the fight is over. It’s over. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop the fight.’ Nothing. Brandon is screaming. Rich is on the camera stand screaming saying, ‘Hey, it’s over, stop it,’ trying to get Frank’s attention. Nothing. At that point, I run from the table I’m sitting at, and I try to run over to where the cage door is, because I was going to try to get up the stairs and say, ‘Hey, it’s over.’ By that time, Gianni had came to and he tapped, and Frank stopped the fight.”

Fury FC promoter Eric Garcia (middle) squares off Fury FC 76 main event fighters Edgar Chairez (left) and Gianni Vazquez (right) prior to their fight.

Left in the dark

With the fight on UFC Fight Pass, it didn’t take long for the sequence to go viral and spark tremendous outrage from the MMA community. Multiple clips posted on social media of the incident surpassed 1 million views. From the moment it happened, Garcia said he’s been left with more questions than answers.

“I was like, ‘Frank, what the f*ck happened? What’s going on? This kid was asleep,'” Garcia said of the moment he got in the cage post-fight. “He’s like, ‘He wasn’t asleep.’ I said, ‘He was out, man. He went out.’ He’s like, ‘He wasn’t out. I had my eyes on him the whole time. He wasn’t out.’ I don’t know what he saw, but it certainly wasn’t what we saw.”

The answer in the cage, according to Garcia, is really the only one he’s gotten since Fury FC captured perhaps the most amount of national headlines in the promotion’s history – for the wrong reasons. Outside of a statement Garcia describes as similar to the one the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation issued Saturday to MMA Junkie, he said he’s largely been left in the dark as to what, if any, accountability processes are underway from the state’s athletic commission.

“I just hope there are some sort of repercussions that the state can put in place that says, ‘Hey, if you’re the referee involved, there are going to be some repercussions for this. You’re going to have to sit out for a certain amount of time. You’re going to have to go through these training courses again. You’re going to have to do something that shows you’re capable of not letting it happen again,'” Garcia said. “He could’ve lost his life, and what would’ve happened then?”

Seemingly every time a major MMA event occurs in Texas, a regulatory issue is spotlighted, whether it’s refereeing or judging. Often times local officials are used for major events, as was the case for UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio. One day after Fury FC 76, Collazo (despite Friday’s incident) and fellow official Joel Ojeda were judges in rotation.

This, in particular, is an example of what Garcia thinks needs to be reviewed.