9 More MMA Finishes WWE Should Totally Steal

6. Gilbert Yvel vs. Atte Backman (Fight Festival 12)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4uQnUyUBfI If you're not familiar with the career of MMA figher and kickboxer Gilbert Yvel, rest assured the Dutch combatant is one of the most controversial competitors to ever put on the gloves. He has a laundry last of past transgressions and poor behavior, so much so that his antics derailed would could and should have been a much more promising run in the sport. In a bout with Atte Backman in 2004, Yvel's short temper once again flared to the surface when the referee repeatedly tried to reset the fighters in the clinched position in center ring after separating them due to them falling through the ropes. Yvel wasn't feeling the restart and kept resisting referee Petteri Maunu's attempts, and the dangerous fighter snapped and dropped the official with a hard shot to the head, following it up with a kick to the head while he was down. It's an infamous moment that followed Gilbert throughout his lengthy career and even contributed to the Nevada State Athletic Commission denying him a license to fight. There was a time when the referee was more than just a background character in wrestling, but an in integral part of the story himself. Tommy Young was as much a part of Ric Flair's classic title defenses as the Flair flop. Danny Davis, Nick Patrick and the Hebner twins have been used to tell stories in the ring as well. Now it seems as if an edict has come down from the E to make the ref as invisible as possible, but in the right circumstances - such as the one from the Yvel fight - the official could be a great way for a heel to draw some nuclear heat.