Ellis Barboza apologised after a controversial finish to his comeback win over Shamil Adukhov at ONE Fight Night 34.
The 25-year-old Briton was dropped by a sharp elbow in the first round at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, before storming back to score a third-round TKO.
But Barboza drew the ire of referee Olivier Coste after appearing to land late strikes with Adukhov already grounded from the first knockdown.
“I don’t know what happened, it’s just the adrenaline,” he told the Bangkok Post. “It wasn’t my intention and it won’t happen again.”
Coste shoved Barboza away to issue a standing count, but warned him again after a second knockdown ended the strawweight Muay Thai fight – with more questions raised over another possible late shot.
Ellis Barboza speaks with Shamil Adukhov after their clash at ONE Fight Night 34
“He said, ‘It happened a couple of times.’ I apologise. When you’re in a fight, you don’t really see – you’re just trying to cause damage,” Barboza said. “He’s knocked me down so in my head it’s, ‘I have to do damage to this guy.’ The instincts take over.”
He added: “Olivier spoke to me after the fight and said, ‘Be careful with this,’ and I will try to do so. I will apologise to Olivier and make sure that won’t happen again.”
Barboza feared the referee could have gone further with punishment.
“I’ve seen it happen before with various teammates,” he said. “I was worried. I thank ONE Championship for that, and I apologised to my opponent.
“We have big respect for each other. We’re both Muslim and we’re all good. He understands what happened. It’s a fight at the end of the day, and sometimes adrenaline takes over.”
Ellis Barboza lands an elbow on Shamil Adukhov at Lumpinee Stadium
The Briton was looking to bounce back from his title bout loss to champ Prajanchai in April, which was waved off due to a cut above his eye – but things got off to the worst possible start.
“I needed that wake-up call,” he said of the early knockdown. “He’s taller and was moving a lot, so it took me a round to find my distance. Then Mehdi [Zatout, coach] told me, ‘Let’s go’. I knew I had to wake up and finish strong.”
Barboza admitted he had limited footage to study ahead of the fight.
“He only had one round in ONE Championship, which was on short notice,” he said. “There was one other fight on YouTube, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Credit to him – he surprised me.”
Ellis Barboza is looking to climb back into ONE Championship strawweight title contention
Now 2-1 in the martial arts promotion, “El Jefe” is targeting a rematch with Prajanchai.
“That’s my goal,” he said. “I don’t want to shout names out but I’ll just take whatever I have to in the meantime.
“I want to stay busy and improve. I’m still young in this game and have a lot to learn. Staying busy will help me do that.”
The 25-year-old Briton was dropped by a sharp elbow in the first round at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, before storming back to score a third-round TKO.
But Barboza drew the ire of referee Olivier Coste after appearing to land late strikes with Adukhov already grounded from the first knockdown.
“I don’t know what happened, it’s just the adrenaline,” he told the Bangkok Post. “It wasn’t my intention and it won’t happen again.”
Coste shoved Barboza away to issue a standing count, but warned him again after a second knockdown ended the strawweight Muay Thai fight – with more questions raised over another possible late shot.
Ellis Barboza speaks with Shamil Adukhov after their clash at ONE Fight Night 34
“He said, ‘It happened a couple of times.’ I apologise. When you’re in a fight, you don’t really see – you’re just trying to cause damage,” Barboza said. “He’s knocked me down so in my head it’s, ‘I have to do damage to this guy.’ The instincts take over.”
He added: “Olivier spoke to me after the fight and said, ‘Be careful with this,’ and I will try to do so. I will apologise to Olivier and make sure that won’t happen again.”
Barboza feared the referee could have gone further with punishment.
“I’ve seen it happen before with various teammates,” he said. “I was worried. I thank ONE Championship for that, and I apologised to my opponent.
“We have big respect for each other. We’re both Muslim and we’re all good. He understands what happened. It’s a fight at the end of the day, and sometimes adrenaline takes over.”
Ellis Barboza lands an elbow on Shamil Adukhov at Lumpinee Stadium
The Briton was looking to bounce back from his title bout loss to champ Prajanchai in April, which was waved off due to a cut above his eye – but things got off to the worst possible start.
“I needed that wake-up call,” he said of the early knockdown. “He’s taller and was moving a lot, so it took me a round to find my distance. Then Mehdi [Zatout, coach] told me, ‘Let’s go’. I knew I had to wake up and finish strong.”
Barboza admitted he had limited footage to study ahead of the fight.
“He only had one round in ONE Championship, which was on short notice,” he said. “There was one other fight on YouTube, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Credit to him – he surprised me.”
Ellis Barboza is looking to climb back into ONE Championship strawweight title contention
Now 2-1 in the martial arts promotion, “El Jefe” is targeting a rematch with Prajanchai.
“That’s my goal,” he said. “I don’t want to shout names out but I’ll just take whatever I have to in the meantime.
“I want to stay busy and improve. I’m still young in this game and have a lot to learn. Staying busy will help me do that.”
