Figueroa Rallies From Guillotine Twice for LFA 243 TKO

Lorenzo Figueroa battered Helton Jose with punches until the referee stopped the fight at LFA 243, capping one of the strangest comebacks of the year after Figueroa had been nearly finished by a guillotine choke twice in the same bout.

Jose rocked Figueroa early and locked in a guillotine, turning it into a lifting variation against the cage. Figueroa appeared to tap Jose's shoulder at one point, prompting referee David Shurley to step in and wave the fight off. Figueroa immediately protested, and after a lengthy discussion among cageside officials, the bout was controversially restarted.

What happened next bordered on unbelievable. Jose hurt Figueroa again, this time following up with punches instead of going back to the choke, and once again Figueroa weathered the storm. Figueroa then turned the fight on its head, walking Jose down and landing a left hand that sent his mouthpiece flying. He kept unloading until Jose was down on his hands and knees absorbing punches, and the referee finally stopped it for good.

Was the Restart the Right Call?

The decision to restart the fight after Figueroa's apparent tap is the detail fans will keep arguing about. Figueroa's hand did make contact with Jose's shoulder during the choke, but it did not look like a deliberate submission signal, and officials ultimately sided with him after review. Whatever the merits of that call, it directly set up the finish, since a confirmed tap would have ended the fight with Jose's hand raised instead of Figueroa's.

What It Means Going Forward

Figueroa's survival instincts and finishing burst are the kind of thing that get noticed by matchmakers, but durability questions are fair after he ate real damage from two separate holds and flurries before turning the tide. For bettors, fights like this are a reminder that live, in-fight price swings can move fast and hard on heavyweights with one-punch power on either side. A fighter who looked finished on paper, and arguably was close to finished on the scorecard of common sense, closed the show minutes later. Anyone tailing heavyweight prelims for live betting should treat early trouble as noise until the fight is actually waved off.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened between Lorenzo Figueroa and Helton Jose at LFA 243?

Helton Jose nearly finished Lorenzo Figueroa with a guillotine choke that was briefly ruled a stoppage before officials restarted the fight, and Figueroa came back to batter Jose with punches until the referee stopped the bout in Figueroa's favor.

Why was the Figueroa vs. Jose fight restarted?

Referee David Shurley initially stopped the fight after Lorenzo Figueroa appeared to tap during Helton Jose's guillotine choke, but after Figueroa protested and officials conferred, the fight was allowed to continue.

How did the Figueroa vs. Jose fight end?

Lorenzo Figueroa landed a left hand that knocked out Helton Jose's mouthpiece, then followed up with punches until Jose was down on his hands and knees, prompting the referee to stop the fight.