Roosters fight in a traditional cockfighting competition in New Delhi November 28, 2010 (REUTERS / Parivartan Sharma)

In central California, a man died after being stabbed by a rooster at a local cockfight. Spectators probably weren’t betting on that outcome.

(More on TIME.com: Read about cockfighting in Nicaragua.)

On January 30, police responded to an anonymous call about a cockfight near Bakersfield, California. In the police frenzy, Jose Luis Ochoa’s leg was sliced open by a rooster. Unfortunately for Ochoa, in the name of the sport, someone had attached a knife to the bird. He was taken to a hospital, but doctors were unable to stop the bleeding. He later died at the hospital.

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Cockfighting is illegal, and any attempts at organizing or attending one is punishable under California law. The “sport” is controversial for its treatment of roosters, who are encouraged to fight each other until a victor emerges, often resulting in injuries or deaths for the birds.

It apparently wasn’t Ochoa’s first brush with cockfights — he had paid $370 in fines previously after he admitted to owning or training an animal for fighting. Unfortunately for Ochoa, it’s a cockfight that seems to have ended where few do: with the rooster winning. (via Visalia Times-Delta)