Dober lost via submission in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night, even though he neither tapped nor lost consciousness as “Buscape” applied a guillotine. Still, referee Eduardo Herdy stepped in and called the fight over. And even though it was a blatant misjudgment, his bizarre mistake might not be enough for Dober to get the result overturned to a no-contest, according to Cristiano Sampaio, COO of the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA).
“We can’t change the result,” Sampaio told Combate. “There are three cases where the result can be changed: when the scorecards indicate a different result; when there’s collusion between judges, when they decide who’s going to win, something that happens outside (of Brazil) with betting; and when the failure in the interpretation of the referee that generates a different result than was to have been.
“That was an error of fact,” he continued. “The error of the rule is when there is a failure in the interpretation of the law. We have to review the fight, the referee’s position, which body signals the athlete had, indicating that he passed out or not. Some factors have to be analyzed. But it was not an error of the rule, and had nothing to do with the interpretation of the rule. Today, by the standard of the athletic commission protocol worldwide, there is no way we can change this result. But we have to sit down, discuss and review. Rule is one thing, his performance is another. They are distinct. That’s not the case here, so Leandro ‘Buscape’s’ win will likely be maintained.”
Herdy also made a mistake during Christos Giagos vs. Jorge de Oliveira, ignoring “Blade’s” taps until he passed out. However, Sampaio said the referee will likely undergo refresher course, but will “absolutely” work on other MMA fights in the future, including in the UFC.
Dober will still appeal despite the result, though.
“That’s unfortunate,” Dober told MMAFighting.com on Sunday night. “I was told last night that the head commissioner couldn’t comment on it until I appeal and he gets a chance to review the ‘error/mistake’ their referee made. I will still appeal. There is a lot of information coming out regarding this referee, pics of him training with Leandro’s team, the fact that he’s a black belt, which tells me that he knows that guillotine is nearly impossible to finish, all of these facts make his ‘mistake’ more and more suspicious. I wanted everyone to see it and know that this is a very serious issue that can’t be ignored. I would never be comfortable with him as a referee again.”
Dober lost via submission in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night, even though he neither tapped nor lost consciousness as “Buscape” applied a guillotine. Still, referee Eduardo Herdy stepped in and called the fight over. And even though it was a blatant misjudgment, his bizarre mistake might not be enough for Dober to get the result overturned to a no-contest, according to Cristiano Sampaio, COO of the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA).
“We can’t change the result,” Sampaio told Combate. “There are three cases where the result can be changed: when the scorecards indicate a different result; when there’s collusion between judges, when they decide who’s going to win, something that happens outside (of Brazil) with betting; and when the failure in the interpretation of the referee that generates a different result than was to have been.
“That was an error of fact,” he continued. “The error of the rule is when there is a failure in the interpretation of the law. We have to review the fight, the referee’s position, which body signals the athlete had, indicating that he passed out or not. Some factors have to be analyzed. But it was not an error of the rule, and had nothing to do with the interpretation of the rule. Today, by the standard of the athletic commission protocol worldwide, there is no way we can change this result. But we have to sit down, discuss and review. Rule is one thing, his performance is another. They are distinct. That’s not the case here, so Leandro ‘Buscape’s’ win will likely be maintained.”
Herdy also made a mistake during Christos Giagos vs. Jorge de Oliveira, ignoring “Blade’s” taps until he passed out. However, Sampaio said the referee will likely undergo refresher course, but will “absolutely” work on other MMA fights in the future, including in the UFC.
Dober will still appeal despite the result, though.
“That’s unfortunate,” Dober told MMAFighting.com on Sunday night. “I was told last night that the head commissioner couldn’t comment on it until I appeal and he gets a chance to review the ‘error/mistake’ their referee made. I will still appeal. There is a lot of information coming out regarding this referee, pics of him training with Leandro’s team, the fact that he’s a black belt, which tells me that he knows that guillotine is nearly impossible to finish, all of these facts make his ‘mistake’ more and more suspicious. I wanted everyone to see it and know that this is a very serious issue that can’t be ignored. I would never be comfortable with him as a referee again.”
