Strangeness just seems to find Khetag Pliev.
Four months after nearly losing a finger in one of the most bizarre injuries in combat sports history, Pliev returned to the Cage Fury Fighting Championships Cage on Saturday to fight Nah-Shon Burrell in a 175-pound catchweight bout at CFFC 99 in Tunica, Miss.
It didn’t take long before Pliev was involved in another odd incident as he and Burrell had to briefly pause their contest when a large moth flew into the cage. Referee Eric McMahon immediately called for a stop to the action until the insect made its exit.
Watch Burrell’s stunned reaction above. If you listen closely, you can also hear the sound of someone shrieking at the moth’s appearance.
“We’ve got a rather large flying insect that has invaded the Fitz Tunica Casino & Hotel,” commentator John Morgan said. “Fortunately, our referee has ushered the insect out of the fighting surface.”
“You see Nah-shon Burrell looking good with his boxing and then right here stuffs this takedown from the moth, who then immediately flies away,” commentator CM Punk jokingly added. “Kind of dirty pool by the moth if you ask me.”
The broadcast later showed a close-up of the moth, drawing more stunned reactions from the commentary team.
“What in God’s name is that?” Morgan said.
“You know the thing about Mothra, Mothra’s around, Godzilla can’t be far behind,” Punk said. “My wife is not gonna be happy if Godzilla prevents me from flying home.”
As for how the fight actually ended, it was Burrell who scored an impressive walkoff knockout in the third round after throwing everything he had at a resilient Pliev.
Burrell later took to Twitter to mention the moth, which he called a “mf monster.”