An MMA Thanksgiving: 2016 All-Turkey Team

Tonya Evinger

Presented without comment, or as Joe Friday put it: “Just the facts, ma’am.”

The date was May 7. Invicta Fighting Championships bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger, who has since been dethroned by Yana Kunitskaya, had just successfully defended her crown with a five-round dominant performance against a game Colleen Schneider at The Hangar at OC Fair in Costa Mesa, California. As captivating as her performance was, the evening was about to become one to remember for years to come.

Evinger, who told the Los Angeles Daily News she “felt sick the last two rounds,” vomited in a bucket shortly after the final bell. This, on its own, is not such an unusual circumstance. Seeing a fighter vomit before, during or following a hard-fought match is nothing new. Anxiety and lingering weight-cut issues produce these bodily responses in our sport. It’s not a frequent occurrence, yet referees and cageside officials have become forum memes cleaning up the evacuated contents of competitors’ fight-day meals. It happens.

What unfolded next, some say, was less than considerate, at least without a courtesy brush and perhaps a double-shot of Listerine.

#InvictaFC17 pic.twitter.com/I51iW5b3YD

— caposa (@GrabakaHitman) May 8, 2016

Invicta post-fight interviewer Laura Sanko, who showed a great sense of humor with the prank, got an unexpected pair of vomity lips planted right on her kisser. Seriously.

@WMMANews I literally don't even know what to say lol!!!!!!!! That was hilarious

— Laura Sanko (@laura_sanko) May 8, 2016

“So to all my haters out there stirring the pot over my attempt to win ‘moment of the year,’ take a chill pill and relax,” said Evinger. “Me and Laura are friends and not everyone is as fragile flowers as you guys; some people have a sense of humor. Thx again @laura_sanko for being such a good sport and helping me win this time around..#momentoftheyear #voteforme”

I don’t know if Evinger will win Invicta’s “Moment of the Year,” but I can guarantee we’ll be talking about her as we honor the 2016 All-Turkey Team this Thanksgiving.

Continue Reading » Misdirected Vixen