Pat Downey was stormed to victory in the IBJJF No Gi World Championship at blue belt before being disqualified in the final, and was then promoted to purple belt immediately afterward. It was a truly unique sequence of events for the elite wrestler making his IBJJF debut and it’s made him swear off ever competing for the promotion again. He was coming into the tournament as the heavy favorite to win his division, as he’s proven himself capable of competing with elite black belts in the past. So much so in fact, that he encountered some criticism for entering a blue belt division in the first place.
Things started off very well for Downey, as he won his first four matches in convincing fashion and didn’t concede a single point in any of them. That booked him a place in the final opposite Checkmat representative Shamil Murtazaliev, and that was just as successful as his earlier appearances at first. Downey locked up a tight choke from the front-headlock and chased after it, putting Murtazaliev to sleep and prompting the referee to call off the match. It was another flawless performance and Downey immediately started to celebrate winning the match, making a classic throat-cutting gesture to the crowd watching.
That’s when things started go wrong, as his opponent’s supporters did not appear to be happy with Downey’s celebration. The staff helped wake up Murtazaliev and the referee began conferring with the head referee through his earpiece, leaving both men standing on the mats waiting for Downey’s hand to be raised. Murtazaliev and Downey then started to talk to one another and although it’s not clear exactly what was said, whatever it was it was enough to start a fight. Downey mocked Murtazaliev by making a sleeping gesture and his opponent immediately swung for him in response, almost hitting the referee between them.
Downey responded by throwing a punch of his own and multiple referees intervened to separate the two men, diffusing the situation. Then both Pat Downey and Shamil Murtazaliev were disqualified due to a disciplinary decision, and neither man was eligible to claim the medals that they had won. Downey was understandably furious, as he had just spent the entire day competing and winning five matches in a row only to be denied the gold medal at the end. He did receive some consolation after the fact though, as he was awarded his purple belt in BJJ in recognition of his performance.
Although Pat Downey originally planned to return to the IBJJF No Gi World Championship as a purple belt next year to compete again, after being disqualified this year he appears to have had a change of heart in a recent post to his official Instagram account. The footage of the incident can also be seen below:
