Anthony Johnson’s appeal to the Nevada State Athletic Commission of a controversial July 19th TKO loss to Kevin Burns due to an eye poke at UFC Fight Night 14 has been denied.
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer today confirmed the appeal rejection to MMAFrenzy.com (www.mmafrenzy.com) via email.
“Based on advice from the Nevada Attorney General’s office, the appeal was rejected due to lack of remedy,” Kizer revealed to MMAFrenzy.com.
Johnson’s July bout against Burns ended in controversy after Burns received multiple warnings for poking Johnson in the eyes during the opening two rounds then put Johnson down for good in round three with an accidental-but-illegal eye poke that sent Johnson to the canvas screaming in pain. The referee immediately intervened and waved off the fight with most fans suspecting Johnson would be declared the winner via disqualification, however when the final decision was rendered Burns was controversially declared the winner via TKO.
Though the liklihood of an appeal succeeding was slim Johnson opted to file an appeal with the NSAC in hopes of having the result overturned, but the appeal was ultimately rejected by the commission.
Following the loss Johnson was forced to undergo laser surgery on his eye to repair a detached retina and is aiming to return to the octagon before the end of the year.
Latest
I don’t get it. Multiple warnings in first 2 rounds, then ends the fight with the same illegal eye poke. What am I missing? How in god’s name was this NOT overturned?!!
That’s some ole bullsh*t
Ok I normally can see the officials angle and everything but there is not one here. The bout should at the least be ruled a No Contest. I can understand not granting him a win but this should have been an easy no contest. Like Rob said there were multiple warnings and then the fight is obviously decided by an illegal strike. This is a terrible decision and I only hope that Anthony Johnson does not take it personal. Mainly so that he can come back, forget about it, and get back in the win column.
I don’t understand. The guy fell to the mat screaming in pain after an eye poke that was clearly visible on camera, and the had to have surgery to repair his retina. How is this not a NC or DQ win for Johnson?
“Based on advice from the Nevada Attorney General’s office, the appeal was rejected due to lack of remedyâ€
You can’t grant an appeal because the law doesn’t provide power to overturn the decision. I had read an article before his appeal was filed that basically stated that his manager didn’t expect it would be granted on that basis alone.
this is sad…
johnson was winning the fight, so his opponent has to cheat and poke his eye!?!!?!?!
if anything it should have been a DQ…how was it a tko??
man this sucks…im lookin forward to his next fight…
hes coming back with a vengeance!!!
This is ridiculous, this fight definitely be ruled a NO CONTEST!
Lack of remedy ? It should have been ruled a NC at the very least …. thats why I say they should go back to “anything goes” rules . I woulda met him outside the dressing area and kneed his face right the fuk off his head as payment.eye gouge win ? BULL SHIGHT
Thank you Kris.
I can’t believe this. Burns went Three Stooges on him. BS
I agree, should’ve at least been ruled a no contest.
Off topic, I know most people expect Silva to destroy Cote, but does anyone but me think Cote actually has a chance? Look at Evans, not many people believed he had a chance in hell of beating Lidell let alone dropping him. I think the predator could surprise a lot of people come this fight, I believe he has enough ko power to knock Silva the f out. Don’t get me wrong, I like Silva and I know he is the favourite, but I also think Cote definately has a chance to beat him.
Silva was losing against Marquardt (how ever you spell it) and Lutter, and if Lutter hadn’t made that one mistake, he was doing an awesome job of beating the Spider. Silva isn’t as unbeatable as so many people seem to think. EVERYONE can be beaten, Silva included. imo
Burns is the future of the welterweight division. I was very impressed with him, especially his TKO to end the fight. He’s definitely a promising young WW. Can’t wait to see him against some tougher competition. Should make for some good fights.
And to defeat Carneiro at his own game, on the ground. Impressive, that’s all I can say. This Burns kid might have the belt sooner than later. Watch out, GSP.
HAHA i dont think anyones going to beat GSP for a long while hes in his prime and one of the sports best. so however wins out of sanchez and alves is to me going to lose and bj is going to lose.
Newfie, I completely agree with you. A. silva is beatable, and Cote could be man to do it. Doubtful, but possible. Nate the Great should get a chance at it with one more win. Probably middle of next year. He also could be the man to do it. I think winner of Leben-Bisping could fight Marquardt for that chance.
ya i would really hope cote will win like you said boubtful but possible needs to get a quik ko i know cote has that so good luck. i remember watching his first fight coming up to chapion contender the first one to finally beat kendall grove.
Man alot of stupid bullshit happens in MMA, but this takes the cake.
I am in jaw dropping silent speechless awe at the blatant childish mental fucking retardness of these criminal asshole cocksucking pricks running the CSAC.
I think one of the CSAC people is related to kevin burns.
Like, i am just fucking speechless, i cannot put the words together.
they overturned NICK DIAZ VS TAKANORI GOMI JUST BECAUSE NICK DIAZ HAD SOME WEED?!?!?!?!?!?!?
AND THEY DO NOTHING FOR THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
@Tmoney – No problem, part of the job description haha
The NVSAC got something wrong? What? Just one more reason to be pulling for Anthony his next night out.
Does anybody know how often a fight gets overturned? Is that something that happens all the time or does it rarely happen or what? They said they didn’t overturn it because there was no remedy. How about wiping it off the records and having a rematch? That sounds like a remedy to me.
It was an accidental poke because Burns has busted up fingers on his left hand and he can’t make a fist, but it was still a finger in Johnson’s eye all the way up to the second knuckle. It was brutal. Too bad they won’t get it straightened out.
Johnson showed pure class after the fight. I liked him before that fight and liked him even more after it. Burns was very apologetic and offered a rematch the same night…
Rhys
I have to agree with you. They overturned Diaz’s win against Gomi because of pot. I don’t see how that affected the outcome of that fight, bbut Burns with his fist in Johnson’s eye socket all the way up to his wrist sure did affect the outcome of that fight…
NAC 467.770 Change of decision after contest or exhibition; factors considered by Commission. (NRS 467.030) The Commission will not change a decision rendered at the end of any contest or exhibition unless:
1. The Commission determines that there was collusion affecting the result of the contest or exhibition;
2. The compilation of the scorecards of the judges discloses an error which shows that the decision was given to the wrong unarmed combatant; or
3. As the result of an error in interpreting a provision of this chapter, the referee has rendered an incorrect decision.
I don’t believe any of the above apply… As for Diaz vs. Gomi…
NAC 467.850 Administration or use of alcohol, stimulants, drugs or injections; urinalysis or chemical tests; disciplinary action. (NRS 467.030)
6. A licensee who violates any provision of this section is subject to disciplinary action by the Commission. In addition to any other disciplinary action by the Commission, if an unarmed combatant who won or drew a contest or exhibition is found to have violated the provisions of this section, the Commission may, in its sole discretion, change the result of that contest or exhibition to a no decision.
I’m not saying that AJ didn’t get screwed… I’m saying there’s nothing in the books that could help him.
oh ya he got pocked in the eye and was screaming.
What about this: 3. As the result of an error in interpreting a provision of this chapter, the referee has rendered an incorrect decision.
The ref was in error for calling the finger in the eye a legal punch… I’m just asking. I don’t know what provisions are in that chapter.
If there’s no provision for changing an agrecous error like that, then maybe they need to revist that chapter and figure out how to fix it. If they don’t want to fix that, then stop overturning fights because of stuff like smoking pot.
I could see “3. As the result of an error in interpreting a provision of this chapter, the referee has rendered an incorrect decision.” applying depending on how the rules are phrased regarding ruling a fight a DQ/no contest.
Ultimately it wasn’t overturned no matter the merits of the situation and that’s all that matters at this point.
What happened doesn’t apply to #3 in my opinion. I watched the fight and from the angle that the ref was watching he couldn’t see the eye poke. It looked like Burns landed a punch that floored AJ. It was the reverse angle that showed the eye poke. The ref stopped the fight issuing a TKO victory. It wasn’t an error in interpretation… it was a missed foul.
Yea, Kris, not much we can do about it in any case. It just seems like this should have been handled a little better… er… a lot better, I guess.
well we all know johnson can beat burns anyways so it doesnt really matter its kinda the sam affect of marquardt and leites..ya leites won but i dont really consider him a winner just lucky
No contest
AJ wins via DQ
those are the only two possible outcomes of the match…how the ref pulled that third one out of his ass is beyond me
Gunslinger while I sort of agree with your assessment and comparison to the Leites v Marquardt fight it was a bit different. At one point Leites had Marquardt rocked and almost finished him. One of Marqaurdts point deductions was needed while the other was not. The Johnson v Burns fight on the other hand was one sided the entire way. Johnson had outpointed Burns the whole fight and never was Johnson in danger. I have more much more respect for Leites than Burns. If that makes any sense.
This is bullsh1t. I cant see any more clearer cut case of a genuinely wrong result to a fight.
No sense at all.
While there may of been a considerable amount of sarcasm in my earlier posts, I have to say that Burns did do a pretty good job against Johnson. He was probably losing on paper, but it was a much closer fight then you all are making it out to be. The NSAC trusts the refs, and they do not like to overturn their rulings, therefore this is what it is. Sorry, Johnson, bad deal, but he’ll be back.
All I know is that Mr. Johnson is a phenomenal athlete and if he sets into a grove his opponents are in trouble. I see Johnson going a long win streak unless he is cursed with bad luck like Nate Quarry.
maybe instant replay might be of some help or more refs outside of the ring to help see all angles. all the other sports do. y not? too much fast moving and repositioning for the ref. i always thought big john was too slow. several fighters took unneccessary punishment due to big john moving like a sloth. no offense to all the big dumb heavyweights!!!
was just kidding about the heavyweight comments!!
Who else can’t wait for the rematch?
Well this is bull*%#? are fighters gonna start trainign technique on eye poking know since they can win fights with it or maybe they should just start headbutting and biting.