Did Fabricio Franco fake the groin shot in hopes of getting a win?
Over the years we have seen some wild things in mixed martial arts, but have you ever seen a fighter fake a foul in order to try and get a win?
While it is not entirely certain if Fabricio Franco didn’t sustain some sort of injury from a leg kick thrown by Weber Almeida, it does appear that Franco did try to claim an impurity that didn’t really happen.
Almeida was dropped by a knee to the midsection before the Bellator 278 fight was temporarily halted for the fighter to recover. Once resumed, Almeida threw a leg kick that appeared to hit the upper inner thigh of Franco.
Video shots along with a few tweet reactions below:
Dude must have the most insufferable man colds #Bellator278 pic.twitter.com/P6SnFnV8s3
— Shakiel Mahjouri (@Shak_Fu) April 23, 2022
Elite acting by Franco LMAOOO pic.twitter.com/zGKb14RXB7
— Follow @FTB_VIDS (@FTB_VIDS) April 23, 2022
Referee Chris West allowed Franco time to recover, but then conversed with cageside officials who watched the replay, and later told Franco there was no foul and he would either need to get up and continue or have the fight called.
Franco did not answer the call in time and the fight was waved off and a loss was added to his record. Weber Almedia picked up a first round TKO at 3:01 into the fight.
While it is entirely speculation to say that Fabricio Franco was acting, it doesn’t appear that his strategy worked out in his favor if his plan was to earn a disqualification victory.
