Something’s wrong when you can throw an illegal strike that ends a fight – and even results in a point deduction – but you can still win. Right?
That’s what happened on two separate occasions this past weekend at UFC on ESPN 34.
First, Martin Buday won a technical decision after hitting Chris Barnett with an illegal elbow to the back of the head in the third round of their heavyweight bout. Because referee Dan Miragliotta deemed it “accidental,” the fight – which Buday controlled – went to the judges’ scorecards where Buday won 30-27 on all three scorecards. Later on, in the co-headliner officiated by Miragliotta, Caio Borralho was awarded a technical unanimous decision against Gadzhi Omargadzhiev after he struck Omargadzhiev with an illegal knee. This time, Miragliotta deducted a point but still deemed the strike “accidental,” which allowed the result to go to the judges who each had Borralho winning 29-27.
Make it make sense, will you?
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Matthew Wells, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia offered their thoughts on what happened, how it could’ve been handled differently, and potential solutions moving forward while discussing with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia in the video above.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video below.
mmajunkie.usatoday.com
