[Gaunja]

Hey Shrub!

In the heat of the moment, it's hard to tell if you completely put a guy out or not. Sometimes it's completely obvious and there are unnecessary shots without a doubt. Other times it's not so obvious and there are maybe one or two before the winner backs off.

A lot of times you will see a KO and the winner doesn't follow up at all (See Marquardt vs Maia for a good example). It really depends on the situation. It is combat sports though and it's just the nature of the beast.

Also as much as the follow up punches can solidify the win, it can also make the person "wake up" if it was just a flash KO. It's almost like a double edged sword. Some of the best strikers usually know when to back off so they don't wake their opponent from a flash KO, and halting the ref from stopping the fight. The craziest example of this is Cheick Kongo vs Pat Berry. Kongo was flash KO'd probably 2-3x, but woke up by the next punch that followed. The ref nearly stopped the fight several times. Another example recently (last Thursday) is Chad Mendes vs Frankie Edgar. Mendes was flash ko'd, hit with another punch and completely awake, but unaware of what happened.