As a result, the New York State Athletic Commission has taken rather a significant pounding in the press or their part in the whole debacle, with three distinct events that will have irritated Dana White no end.
Without wanting to rub salt in the rather large wounds, particularly considering this is a Commission that has only taken part in a handful of MMA events since legalising the sport last year, in this post I'll take you through each of the issues over the weekend, the actions of the governing body, and why their decisions were wrong.
Friday:
Issue Number 1 - A New Superhero from DC: The Amazing Weight Loss Towel
Situation: At the official weigh-ins for the main event, Daniel Cormier misses weight by 1.2 pounds, which would see him forfeit his title and 20 per cent of his fight purse to Anthony Johnson. However, a few minutes later, the champion returns to the scale, and, with the help of some downward pressure on a handily placed towel, successfully weighs in at 205 pounds.
What the Commission did: Nothing. In fact, they actively said there had been no wrongdoing by DC or his coaches in the media immediately following the event.
Why that was wrong: As both Michael Bisping and Demetrious Johnson have pointed out in interviews, it's simply cheating. Now I am not of the same mindset of those two fighters, who have suggested that it's a good thing that DC 'tried it on and got away with it'. For me, cheating is cheating, and the Commission should have spotted it at the weigh-ins, or once the replay had been shown and the offence become apparent, they should not have taken the easy way out and instead come down on Cormier.
Solution: Anthony Johnson's team has launched a formal appeal to the Commission, calling for DC to be stripped of the title and 20 per cent of his fight purse given to Rumble. As the fight has already gone ahead, and DC retained, it seems unfair to strip the champ of his title on this occasion. However, I would take the 20 per cent, and I would immediately put in place a rule outlawing any touching of the towel if one is required at the weigh-ins.
Issue Number 2: May the Breast Fighter Win
Situation: Having successfully completed the ceremonial weigh-ins, it comes out that Pearl Gonzalez, who is booked for three rounds on the main card against streaking and unbeaten strawweight Cynthia Calvillo, has breast implants. This goes against the New York State Athletic Commission's regulations for combat sports.
What the Commission did: Here's where it gets a bit blurry. It was initially reported that Gonzalez had been pulled from the card for breaching the regulations, but within a matter of hours, the UFC had come out to say that this was not the case, and the fight would take place as normal. With its extensive experience in boxing, the New York State Athletic Commission had established the no implants rule for that sport, and there had not been a specific rule for MMA. While Dana White blamed the story on the media (and given his new-found friendship with the NYSAC, he was unlikely to do anything else), it seems a bizarre one for them to make up.
Why that was wrong: While not as severe as the previous incident, it's just another rather shambolic issue for the Commission to have to deal with. In a situation where confusion reigns, the spotlight is shone more heavily on those supposed to be regulating, highlighting their lack of control and understanding. In this instance, the confusion came from the lack of awareness around which rules are relevant to MMA, however, in my opinion, the fact that a new sport does not have its own rules and is instead borrowing from another similar sport, is bizarre. Could you imagine if football and rugby did the same thing?
Solution: Make a decision and stick with it. Simple as that. Or maybe make it clear which rules you're moving over from boxing and which ones will be specific to MMA.
Saturday:
Issue Number 3: 'Kneegate'
Situation: In the co-main event, Gegard Mousasi, having rocked Chris Weidman in round two, found himself in a dominant position with the American bent over. The Dutchman quickly landed two knees, leading referee Dan Miragliotta to quickly jump in, thinking that the strikes were illegal.
What the Commission did: With Weidman believing he had five minutes to recover, the ref called in the doctors and checked with fellow official John McCarthy on the video replay. With this revealing that the knees were in fact legal, there was confusion over whether the fight should be restarted or stopped, with the doctors allowing Weidman to continue to recover. Eventually, the fight was declared over and Mousasi was given the controversial TKO win.
Why that was wrong: Where to start? Ignoring the initial incorrect call by the referee, which shouldn't, but can happen at any moment, the Commission made a real mess of it. Firstly, with the NYSAC rules stating that video replays are not allowed, allowing the consultation between Miragliotta and McCarthy was wrong. However, having discovered the knees were legal, the referee and doctors still elected to allow Weidman the full five minutes to recover, which again, was wrong. Finally, having used all that time, the doctors and the ref realised their error on the second point and realised that this fight could no longer be restarted in a fair way. As a result, the contest was ended, despite the fury of the American, giving Mousasi the win in the worst possible way.
Solution: Assuming that this referee mistake happens, the answer is again relatively simple. Stick to your rules, regardless how stupid. If you want to live in a 20th century world with no video replay, you can't use it and Weidman must be given the full five minutes to recover and the fight restarted. However, the American doesn't cover himself in glory, firstly playing the 'hands-down' game, before then doing an Oscar-worthy act to attempt to cause a disqualification. He needs to man up and get back on with the fight - he talks about how he was screwed, but he was attempting to screw Gegard, so he has no leg to stand on in that regard.
Across all of these issues, there is one common theme: agree a universal rule set that is applied by every athletic commission across the world. This current system of on one week, off the next, is absolutely ridiculous, and can only be confusing to the fighter and the officials.
That means, in my eyes, the introduction of the following regulations:
- If a towel is required at the weigh ins, it must be held out of the reach of the fighter on the scale to prevent any cheating
- Women (or indeed, men) with breast implants are allowed to fight
- Video replays are permissible for all suspected fouls, covering eye pokes, grounded opponents and groin shots
- If a referee's decision is shown to be incorrect, the fight should be restarted as soon as possible, and placed in the same position as it was when stopped
- A grounded opponent is one with at least one knee on the floor - hands are irrelevant to this
- Any fighter deemed to be intentionally using the 'grounded fighter' rule to their advantage in an unnatural way will be deducted a point
- All rules must be agreed and adopted by all athletic commissions at the same time
What was your view of these controversies, and how would you have handled them differently if you were at the head of the New York State Athletic Commission?
Let me know your thoughts either in the comments section below, or on Twitter @TheWeighInMMA.
