UFC & MMA News 2014: Fighter Taps Out to Save Opponent From Getting Hurt [Watch Video Here]

People were shocked to see a winning MMA fighter tap out because he no longer wanted to beat his opponent.

Mike Pantangco was up against Jeremy Rasner in the Prison City Fight League held in Michigan, USA. Pantangco had the clear advantage and dominated Rasner during most of the fight. He immediately took control of his weaker opponent during the first round, delivering hard kicks, jabs and punches. However, in a video showed below, with just 20 seconds left on the clock, the stronger Pantangco kneel down then tap out. The referee raised his arms and declared Rasner the winner by TKO, writes Mail Online.

The Filipino fighter continued to present his sportsmanship by raising the arm of Rasner and encouraging the crowd to cheer for the winner. Some experts congratulated and praised Pantangco for his surprising actions, while others said that he disrespected his opponent by forfeiting the match and applied the "mercy rule".

Pantangco later said that one of the main reasons he withdrew from the fight was that Rasner only fought him to substitute his original opponent, who withdrew. Rasner was a friend of the gym where Pantangco trains. He said, "I am sorry for all you guys think I did him wrong or disrespect him... I know what I did and I am mad about it that I didn't give him a fight," in a report by Yahoo! Sports.

During an interview after the match, Pantangco said, "I just feel that there's no point fighting him because he didn't train against me and I didn't train for him and I just feel like we're amateur fighters." He added, "We don't get money, we don't get paid, and I know that the only thing I'm going to finish the fight is him to go in the hospital or get hurt. I just feel terrible so I'm just going to give him the win."

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao actually showed the same kind of mercy and sportsmanship when he fought Antonio Margarito. The WBO welterweight champion, knowing that he has caused enough damage to his opponent, kept looking at the referee and asked him to stop the fight.

Let's watch the video here.