UFC 210 from Buffalo, New York saw a very exciting scrap between Chris Weidman and Gegard Mousasi end halfway through the second round after Gegard hit Chris with a series of knees while Weidman’s hands seemed to be on the canvas, making him a grounded opponent and the strikes illegal. But upon closer inspection, Mousasi’s knees caused Weidman’s hands to lift off the mat, making them legal. Once the referee reviewed the knees, the fight was waved off and Mousasi declared the winner by TKO.
The whole thing was a big mess, and Chris Weidman is now looking to appeal the decision on the grounds that nowhere in the New York State Athletic Commission rules on MMA does it say instant replay is allowed to be used.
Ah, but where in the rules then does it state instant replay isn’t allowed to be used? That’s the response the NYSAC just gave justifying their totally not self-serving justification for doing whatever they want. Checkmate, Chris Weidman.
Instant replay is typically written into the rules by commissions that prefer not to just wing it on a case by case basis. Coming into New York, no one knew that the state allowed refs to review footage and change their calls – not UFC president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner, not any of the fighters on the card, and not anyone in the MMA media. In fact, some still think this sounds fishy, and note New York refused to adopt formal instant replay rules during a recent Association of Boxing Commissions meeting.
So is the NYSAC playing fast and loose with the rules? Probably. Will that fact help Chris Weidman get this latest loss taken off his record? Probably not.
