False countdown ruse succeeds at Mundials |
The crowd around the nearly empty mats was entirely focused on Beneil Dariush and De'Alonzio (DJ) Jackson, as they grappled for the brown belt middleweight championship. DJ got points for a pass very late into the match and was up 4-2.
The crowd chanted the countdown as time was running out. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! When the 1 sounded in the air, Beneil stopped grappling. He stood up and began to compose himself.
What he didn't know is that the crowd chanting was a congregation of Team Lloyd Irvin grapplers and supporters there to coach his opponent, DJ Jackson. There was actually ten more seconds left on the clock. DJ had nothing to do with the false countdown, but readily took advantage of it with a takedown and a pass into side control. Bam! Two points for the takedown and three points for the pass into side control on an unresisting and confused Beneil.
In future editions of the Mundials, there may be rules or sanctions against teams for pulling underhanded tactics like this.