Trevor Smith files appeal to overturn controversial KO loss at UFC Fight Night 56

Caio Magalhaes scored his fourth straight win in the UFC with a 31-second knockout over Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night 56, but the middleweight contest ended in controversial fashion.

After rocking Smith with a knee and a left cross, Magalhaes knocked him down with a hammerfist that clearly hit the back of Smith’s head. The Nova Uniao fighter kept landing hammerfirsts, some of those in the back of the head, and referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight.

Back in the United States, Smith has decided to appeal the controversial loss to the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA), trying to get the result overturned to a no-contest.

“My agent is speaking with the commission right now,” Smith told MMAFighting.com. “That’s the process we’re going through right now, but I haven’t had an update. My agent contacted the commission and they are going to review the case from there.”

Smith is convinced that illegal punches finished him, but that might not be enough to get the loss overturned.

“I’m pretty confident right now, but I’m not expecting them to,” he said. “The strikes were clearly illegal. The fight could have been a pretty entertaining fight. I’m not optimistic, but whatever the outcome I’m gonna deal with it.

“I didn’t even know the strikes were right at my spine like that, I just remember shooting for a takedown and I was kind of lost,” he continued. “When I looked at the video, and saw the shots at the back of my head, when I was shooting for a takedown.”

Speaking to MMAFighting.com after the bout, Magalhaes didn’t acknowledge any illegal blow during the fight.

“I didn’t notice that,” Magalhaes said. “His coach talked to me after the fight, said I punched the back of his head, but I didn’t notice it. The referee should have stepped in if he saw something, but he was already out from the punch and knee I landed.”

Due to illegal punches or not, Smith is just disappointed with the way the fight ended in 31 seconds.

“That’s the thing that hurts the most,” Smith said. “I’m going out there to put on a show for the fans, my family and everyone that trained with me, and for me to get stopped early, whether from an illegal blow or normal blow, that’s what hurts the most. It would have been a really tough fight. It’s a tough one to swallow.”

Smith dropped to 2-3 under the UFC banner with the knockout loss, and he’s hoping to get an immediate rematch with Magalhaes.

“I would actually like a rematch. I think it’s a killer match between me and Caio Magalhaes. Next time it’s going to be a different outcome,” he said. “A rematch would be great. He’s an up-and-comer, I think he’s won four of his last five fights in the UFC, so I would like to go back in there again and show everybody what that fight could have been.

“I’ll fight whoever they want me to fight. If they want to give me a rematch, great. But if not, I’ll come back and get him later.”

Caio Magalhaes scored his fourth straight win in the UFC with a 31-second knockout over Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night 56, but the middleweight contest ended in controversial fashion.

After rocking Smith with a knee and a left cross, Magalhaes knocked him down with a hammerfist that clearly hit the back of Smith’s head. The Nova Uniao fighter kept landing hammerfirsts, some of those in the back of the head, and referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight.

Back in the United States, Smith has decided to appeal the controversial loss to the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA), trying to get the result overturned to a no-contest.

“My agent is speaking with the commission right now,” Smith told MMAFighting.com. “That’s the process we’re going through right now, but I haven’t had an update. My agent contacted the commission and they are going to review the case from there.”

Smith is convinced that illegal punches finished him, but that might not be enough to get the loss overturned.

“I’m pretty confident right now, but I’m not expecting them to,” he said. “The strikes were clearly illegal. The fight could have been a pretty entertaining fight. I’m not optimistic, but whatever the outcome I’m gonna deal with it.

“I didn’t even know the strikes were right at my spine like that, I just remember shooting for a takedown and I was kind of lost,” he continued. “When I looked at the video, and saw the shots at the back of my head, when I was shooting for a takedown.”

Speaking to MMAFighting.com after the bout, Magalhaes didn’t acknowledge any illegal blow during the fight.

“I didn’t notice that,” Magalhaes said. “His coach talked to me after the fight, said I punched the back of his head, but I didn’t notice it. The referee should have stepped in if he saw something, but he was already out from the punch and knee I landed.”

Due to illegal punches or not, Smith is just disappointed with the way the fight ended in 31 seconds.

“That’s the thing that hurts the most,” Smith said. “I’m going out there to put on a show for the fans, my family and everyone that trained with me, and for me to get stopped early, whether from an illegal blow or normal blow, that’s what hurts the most. It would have been a really tough fight. It’s a tough one to swallow.”

Smith dropped to 2-3 under the UFC banner with the knockout loss, and he’s hoping to get an immediate rematch with Magalhaes.

“I would actually like a rematch. I think it’s a killer match between me and Caio Magalhaes. Next time it’s going to be a different outcome,” he said. “A rematch would be great. He’s an up-and-comer, I think he’s won four of his last five fights in the UFC, so I would like to go back in there again and show everybody what that fight could have been.

“I’ll fight whoever they want me to fight. If they want to give me a rematch, great. But if not, I’ll come back and get him later.”