Did Kimbo Slice tap out before eventually finishing Ken Shamrock with a right hand on Friday night? Referee John McCarthy believes he did not.
McCarthy told MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani that he and Slice spoke about a potential tap backstage before Bellator 138 in St. Louis. Referees meet with fighters for rules meetings before the event and during that conversation Slice told McCarthy he would not tap.
"So, I went over what would make me stop the fight," McCarthy said.
What Slice did, putting both hands to the floor in a near-tap while Shamrock had him in a rear-naked choke, did not fit the criteria of what McCarthy and Slice discussed, the godfather of MMA referees said.