UFC middleweight Brian Stann is a fighter, a Marine, and recently, a commentator for Fox. He's used to wearing many hats, so it's no surprise that during his UFC on Fuel 2 win over Alessio Sakara, he was both fighter and referee.
Stann knocked Sakara down with a bevy of knees in the first round. While in Sakara's guard, Stann knocked his opponent out with short elbows. When he saw Sakara was clearly out, he pulled back, waving to referee Marc Goddard that Sakara was knocked out.
Though MMA rules indicate Stann would not have been wrong to continue the bout until Goddard stepped in, he didn't want to inflict any more damage on Sakara.
Immediately after the bout, UFC president Dana White tweeted, "Brian Stann is one of the classiest people on Earth!" Light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, a training partner of Stann's, called the win "very classy" and "good for the sport."
Stann is already known as one of MMA's good guys. He started fighting after a decorated career with the Marines. He founded Hire Heroes, a not-for-profit whose aim is to help veterans transition to civilian jobs. Just before he was scheduled to leave his Atlanta home to train for the Sakara fight in New Mexico, his brother-in-law died. Instead of leaving his grieving wife, Stann trained at home and communicated with his coaches through videos.
As Ben Fowlkes from MMA Fighting wrote, he's such a good guy, you almost want to hate him. Except, he's also the kind of good guy who will stop a fight when he sees his opponent has been knocked out.
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