Dr. Nitin K. Sethi, a New York-based neurologist, has called out the MMA community after receiving threats and online harassment in the wake of his call to end the UFC 244 BMF fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.
“I’m a very good neurologist and a very good doctor, and calling me f*cking scum online and calling my office staff and yelling at them, threatening me, I fear for my health and safety,” he said. “Somebody’s going to get hurt, and it’s probably going to be me this time… People don’t realize what they do when they talk about these things. But that’s the hard reality of this sport.”
Sethi serves as the chief medical officer for the New York State Athletic Commission, which sanctioned the fight in Madison Square Garden. After examining the large cut over Diaz’s right eye, Sethi advised referee Dan Miragliotta to halt the bout. The fight was called for Masvidal by TKO at the end of the third round.
Fans in the Garden jeered the decision, and both fighters expressed their disappointment, with Masvidal immediately promising to run the fight back. UFC President Dana White appeared to shut down that suggestion, and stated he agreed with the doctor’s call.
“I made an objective call based on my assessment of the fighter,” Sethi said. “Not just the cut, but the overall assessment of the fighter (and) how the fight was going. Once I felt I could not guarantee the health and safety going forward, I had to make a tough call… The moment I lose my objectivity and I’m concerned how my actions are viewed by the UFC, by the fans, by the media, then I cease to be a ringside physician, and I cease to be doing my job. I have to be objective, and objectively, you make a call.”
While Sethi says he welcomes criticism from fans who think the stoppage came too early, he believes some have taken their disappointment too far, escalating to threats of violence and harassing him and his staff. “Anybody who’s involved in that sport should be hanging their head in shame when that happens. That’s not how sports are done. I’ve never experienced that, and I’ve been involved in a lot of sports.”
Sethi paid tribute to Diaz, calling him “a fighter who never quits,” who he regards with “the highest respect.” However he warned that it’s down to the ringside physicians to make the call when fighters refuse to stop, and fear of a backlash could lead other doctors to delay too long. “The only thing sad about this will be you’ll have doctors who will now be very afraid to make calls. And when people are scared to make calls because they’re so afraid of the repercussions, I think we’re entering dangerous territory.”
