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Six months after controversy, New York commission officially implements instant replay

The New York State Athletic Commission now officially has an instant replay policy on its books.

The commission implemented the policy earlier this month, bringing its rules in line with recommendations set by the Association of Boxing Commisssions in July, reports Newsday.com.

Now, a referee is formally allowed to request and view a fight’s ending sequence, hopefully rendering the correct decision in situations in which the outcome is in question. The review can take place in the time between the fight’s stoppage and the announcement of the official result.

An alternate referee can be consulted by the primary referee, but the official call rests with the latter. The fight can not be restarted after an instant replace review.

“This policy sets forth a process for the use of instant replay at ringside, adding clarity, transparency and predictability,” a NYSAC spokesperson told Newsday.com.

Few would use those adjectives to describe the situation that resulted from a controversial stoppage in April at UFC 210, the third major UFC pay-per-view regulated by the NYSAC.

The event’s co-main draw between ex-middleweight champ Chris Weidman (14-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) and Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) was stopped in the second round when referee Dan Miragliotta called an illegal knee to Weidman’s head. Miragliotta then consulted with veteran referee John McCarthy, who was cageside and saw the strikes were not illegal by watching a replay of the sequence on the video monitors inside the arena. During the sequence, UFC officials incorrectly declared on the broadcast that no instant replay was available, further confusing the situation.

The crisis was averted, however, when a commission doctor ruled Weidman unable to continue from the knee he took, and Mousasi was ruled the winner by TKO.

Afterward, Weidman appealed the ruling, believing the NYSAC had misapplied its rules. But after a lengthy delay, the commission informed him it could “review video evidence in order to meet its obligation to render correct determinations and act in the best interest of the sport.” Officials cited a commission ruling in 2008 as precedent for the denial of appeal. In that case, a video review of an unintentional head-butt led to a no-contest ruling rather than a knockout win.

Despite its earlier stance, the NYSAC official acknowledged the need to clear up any confusion created by the UFC 210 incident.

“Providing clarity to the MMA community through adoption of a written process was the right thing to do, and we are glad to have the policy on the books,” he wrote to Newsday.

The new policy also maintains the commission’s power to review and potentially change official results it deems unjust.

“Nothing in this policy shall restrict the commission’s authority to review video evidence to determine the correct outcome after the final official outcome of a bout has been announced in the ring,” the policy reads.

New York and its athletic commission will again be in the spotlight next week, when UFC 217 takes place Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

For more on UFC 217, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.


Filed under: News, UFC

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