Veteran fighter and MMA enthusiast Shonie Carter has seen a lot of things during his 12 years in the sport, but he's never witnessed anything like what he saw on Friday night.
While serving as a guest referee at the May 16 Legends of Fighting event, Carter witnessed an eight-second double-knockout in a bout between rookie fighters Tyler Bryan and Shaun Parker.
"My first thought was 'holy [expletive],'" Carter told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). "Then my second thought was that someone needs to get in here and make sure the guys were OK."
Bryan and Parker were both making their professional debuts at the event, which took place at the 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis. Just seconds into the fight, they simultaneously connected on right hooks, and both were instantly knocked out.
Luckily, both guys soon awoke and were OK. In fact, Carter was downright baffled about one post-fight conversation.
"It was actually kind of amusing to me because one fighter's father was trying to tell me his son was OK to continue (fighting)," Carter said. "I was like, 'Your son just got knocked out, and his opponent just got knocked out. It's over.'"
In just three days, various clips of the already-legendary fight have been viewed nearly half a million times on the video-sharing site YouTube.
While Carter knows that the two fighters have secured their place in MMA history, he just wishes the fight would have happened on a bigger stage.
"I felt bad for them honestly," Carter said. "I felt bad for both fighters because you and I know that if that fight is on pay per view in the UFC, that's a Fight of the Night bonus and Knockout of the Night (bonus). That's money that could change their lives. ... I just wish, for them, that it would have happened in a bigger show."
Carter actually decided to attend Friday's event on a whim -- and not as a scheduled celebrity appearance. The Chicago-based fighter says he often attends Midwest-based shows. However, Friday was one of the most unique.
"That's the first-ever double knockout," said Carter, who's fought all over the world for organizations such as the UFC, Pancrase and Shooto. "I've seen spinning backfists, body-shot TKOs and some strange things, but I've never eyewitnessed, up until that very moment, a double knockout. I don't know how long we'll have to wait before there's another one. However, I do know that I had the privilege to be a part of history in the making."
Carter, who next fights Demi Deeds at a May 30 Primetime Fighting Championship event, also revealed to MMAjunkie.com two other upcoming bouts. Carter said he will fight Luke Stewart at a June 27 Strikeforce show in San Jose, Calif., and then he'll meet Matt Major at a July 25 Cage Combat show.
"I'm wonderful," Carter said. "No injuries. No nothing. Well, I do have a bald spot. Other than that, though, I'm great."
