UFC strawweight title contender Claudia Gadelha recorded a unanimous decision win over Cortney Casey on last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 100 card in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but there was considerable controversy over what transpired in the final round.
With Casey on the ground and Gadelha standing up, Claudia threw a kick at Casey’s face, and Casey fell back, looking to be in considerable pain. After Casey had time to recover, the fight resumed, but referee Fernando Portella did not dock Gadelha any points for what was an illegal strike. While on live viewing, it looked to be a horrific, possibly disqualification-worthy foul by Gadelha, replays suggested that there was minimal contact at best, if any contact at all. Casey said post-fight she was kicked in the head, while Gadelha said she didn’t believe the kick landed. Evidently, the CABMMA has sided with Gadelha on this one.
In an official statement by CABMMA COO Cristiano Sampaio to MMA Fighting, he explained why there was no point taken away for the kick, and also criticized Casey for her behavior.
“Because the kick didn’t land, the athlete forged the injury,” Sampaio said in a statement. “Had she not done that, and not used that time to her benefit and rest, he would have deducted the point. Had the kick landed, Claudia could get two points deducted or being disqualified. (Casey’s) conduct was wrong and unsportsmanlike, which could even be interpreted by the referee as she was giving up on the fight. The point was not deducted because of her attitude. It was an atypical situation and (the referee) acted correctly under our interpretation.”
Video of the incident can be seen at the top of the page. The win put Gadelha back in the win column following her title fight loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, while Casey, who came into Saturday’s bout as a significant underdog, saw her two-fight winning streak come to an end.
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