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NYSAC executive director discusses UFC 223 chaos, Al Iaquinta title stakes

Friday’s UFC 223 weigh-ins were arguably the most chaotic in UFC history, and the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) is finally providing some answers.

The second planned main event between Max Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) fell apart during the weigh-in window when Holloway was deemed medically unfit to compete. From there, a scramble ensued to find a replacement for tonight’s card, which takes place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Several fighters were reportedly discussed as replacement options. Al Iaquinta (13-3-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC), Anthony Pettis (20-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) and Paul Felder (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) were among them, and ultimately Iaquinta got the fight.

So, how did we get here, and what was the entire process? Check out this Q&A with NYSAC executive director Kim Sumbler (conducted just prior to the start of UFC 223) for all the answers.

* * * *

There was a report that Max Holloway was pulled due to an eye examination and not a medical examination. Can you confirm if that’s true and the process of his removal from the card?

“All I can confirm is I was pulled into a back room about 10:30 in the morning. I’m not a medical doctor, so I don’t do the examination myself. I was told a decision was made between the UFC physicians and my chief medical staff. Jointly they did not feel that Max should continue. I said, ‘OK, if that’s your decision, we’ll go out and make an announcement that it was a joint decision between the two teams.’ That’s basically how it happened. He was done.”

Following that there was the mad scramble about the replacement. What was the process in trying to approve Al Iaquinta? There was some talk of Paul Felder, and there was some talk of Anthony Pettis. How did it all come together from you perspective?

“Anthony Pettis was presented to me as an opponent for Khabib. We tried to put the fight together. Anthony Pettis had not weighed in yet. He was at 155.2. Because it was getting close to 11 o’clock we had Anthony weigh in and make that official weight. According to our regulations, any title fighter gets an additional two hours to attempt to make weight. At 155.2, Anthony and his team had decided. Anthony’s coach decided that he did not want Anthony to lose any additional weight. There was still some talk back and forth about what we were going to go. I asked Anthony to look me in the face, with everybody there, UFC, us, our team, our medical doctors and I said, ‘Anthony do you want to lose the weight?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t.’ I said, ‘OK guys, go get the scale.’ Anthony took a big chug of water and away he went.”

With Al, did you really weigh the underwear?

“That’s my understanding, that’s what I was told. They asked if it was a possibility for us to subtract the weight of his undergarments or his shorts. I looked through my regulations to see if there was anything in there where we could make that kind of exception. There was not. So I communicated that to the UFC management team. They said OK. They asked if Khabib could fight for the title and Al not. I said, ‘Yes, that’s a possibility. We do that, and that’s been done several times.’ We do that in boxing, we do that in MMA if an opponent doesn’t weigh in and make weight. That doesn’t mean that the opponent didn’t live up to the terms of the fight. So that’s what we agreed to.”

But isn’t it the promoters title? Why would the commission be in charge if it’s the promoters title?

“That’s what makes this difficult. We’re not in a situation where we’re up against something that’s already happened, and we have a (path) to follow. We’re trying to do the best that we can. The commission actually decides if somebody makes weight, and he did not weigh in as a lightweight fighter. He weighed in at 155.2. That puts him in the next bracket. I can’t qualify him to fight for that title. He’s not a lightweight. Even if it’s .2 pounds, even if it’s .4. We draw that line at 155 pounds. What I saw with his official weight was 155.2. I can’t certify that.”

The titles are the promotion’s tools. So what happens if at the press conference they give him the belt and assign him as the champion?

“I think we’re alluding to the fact of what (UFC President) Dana (White) said versus what was interpreted from what he said, from what is actual fact. I think what Dana said is what anybody else would say to anyone who fights and beats Khabib. ‘You’re the man, you’re the champ.’ Regardless of whether you have a belt wrapped around your waist, you’re the champ. I think that was Dana’s intent. The promotion owns the belt. If Dana chooses to give him that belt, I cannot officially record him as the 155-pound champion. But I also can’t say Dana can’t give him that belt. That’s Dana’s belt. But when he goes to fight or defend that belt in another jurisdiction, that’s when we’re going to come across the issue of: Is he really (the champion)? Is he not? Are they going to certify him? That’s a bridge we’re going to have to cross when we get there. Right now I cannot certify him to fight for that belt. He’s not a lightweight.”

Let’s say Al goes to fight in a different state, different commission. If they wanted to they could acknowledge him as the champion, correct?

“They absolutely could. That would be a discussion between the two commissions to come to some sort of solution. Again, we’re treading on ground that has never happened before. MMA is a new sport. We don’t know what to do in this situation. I don’t know what’s going to happen. We follow the model that comes from boxing where the belts are owned by sanctioning bodies, separate entities and not owned by the promoter. Now we’re in a situation where the belt is owned by the promotion. So who really gets to say? … I’m not willing to change my rules. My rules are my rules, and that’s the hard part.”

I just don’t see how you could get involved with the championship. You could say, ‘He weighed 155.2, and that’s the contract, but doesn’t Dana have the right to say, ‘OK, our lightweight division is 155.2, and he made it?

“Now we’re getting into the unified rules, and I don’t think Dana can change the unified rules. That’s something for the commissions and the Association of Boxing Commissions to agree too.”

If Al wins this fight they could say, ‘He won this fight, and we’re stripping our champion and making Al our champion.’ Isn’t that them telling you that, ‘This is our brand new lightweight champion?’ Whether you concede he won that tonight or not?

“All I can say is we’re treading on ground that is groundbreaking. Nobody knows how this is going to play out. Nobody knows what the right thing is here. I would love for somebody to say, ‘No, Kim, it’s black and white. This is how we do it.’ I’m dealing with a situation where I’m handling it the best way I know how according to my rules and regs. What happens from here, the belt doesn’t belong to me. Al is a subcontractor of the UFC. I have no control over the UFC, they’re a licensee of mine. They have their own private company. All I can do is (say) in New York State he will not be recognized as the 155-pound lightweight champion.”

Is there anything you can say about the Paul Felder part of it?

“Paul Felder was never, ever presented to me as a potential opponent.”

Really? He did interviews and he said that he did not get the fight because he was not part of the rankings?

“If he was presented I would have researched it and gave my decision of whether or not Paul met the qualifications to fight Khabib. I would have to look at the matchup, style for style. There’s a lot that we talk about that goes into it. I would have to look at his medical condition the time he weighed in. I know he weighed in at 155, but I didn’t look at those as opponents.”

“If I’m presented with a fight and those two fighters are evenly matched, and I think it’s going to be a good, clean, even fight. Who the UFC chooses to present as a title contender, that’s completely up to them. Their ranking system means nothing to me. You can be ranked No. 2, and I have documented information that this is not going to be a safe fight, that fight is not happening in my jurisdiction. Ranking means nothing to me.”

For complete coverage of UFC 223, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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