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NSAC Denies Knowing About Conor McGregor Injury Before UFC 264

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) had no idea about any pre-fight injury for Conor McGregor. McGregor broke his tibia last week at UFC 264 which led to a first-round TKO defeat via doctor stoppage to Dustin Poirier. McGregor has since claimed that he had stress fractures going into the fight and that many people […]

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) had no idea about any pre-fight injury for Conor McGregor.

McGregor broke his tibia last week at UFC 264 which led to a first-round TKO defeat via doctor stoppage to Dustin Poirier. McGregor has since claimed that he had stress fractures going into the fight and that many people had knowledge about it as well.

“Everyone keeps asking me at what point did the leg break?” McGregor said. “Ask [UFC president] Dana White, ask the UFC, ask Dr [Jeffrey] Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. They knew… I had stress fractures on my leg going into that cage. There was debate about pulling out because I was sparring with no shin pads and I kicked the knee a few times, so I had multiple stress fractures in the shin bone above the ankle.”

“I even did a lot of training sessions when the ankle was sore, I still wouldn’t stop training, I used to train on my back and that’s how I developed those ground and pound shots from the back.”

The Irishman would later post images of his ankles being taped up during training camp as further proof of his claim.

Of course, if this really was the case, it’s not a good look for the NSAC who not only didn’t detect such an injury, but sanctioned McGregor to fight in Las Vegas.

That is why they have since claimed no knowledge of any such injury.

“If we ever knowingly had information a fighter wasn’t fit to fight, we wouldn’t let them compete,” NSAC executive director Bob Bennett said. “It would go to a doctor, and a doctor would make that decision as the expert.”

It would seem pretty hard to miss out and given that other doctors have also doubted McGregor’s claims, it’s fair to say we can dismiss it entirely.

NSAC Director Unsure On Dana White’s Plan To Hold Events In Las Vegas

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) director Bob Bennett says no decision has been made about allowing UFC to host events in Las Vegas. In an email to MMA Fighting NSAC chief Bennett refused to confirm if he will allow events to take place at the UFC Apex facility next month and instead stated any […]

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) director Bob Bennett says no decision has been made about allowing UFC to host events in Las Vegas.

In an email to MMA Fighting NSAC chief Bennett refused to confirm if he will allow events to take place at the UFC Apex facility next month and instead stated any future decision will be guided by the science, he said.

“We will see what the data reveals based on the science of COVID-19 and move forward accordingly. We are closed until further notice, and once again the data from the science will determine future events accordingly.”

So far, the UFC have been forced to postpone four shows amid the coronavirus pandemic. Last week White has asked by Disney bosses to shut down his UFC 249 event which was set to take place at the Tachi Palace in California.

Earlier this week the UFC President announced he intends to host an event on May 9 and a full card of fights was released to the public. The venue for any potential event remains unclear although White did tell Variety fights would be taking place at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada starting in May, he said.

“We built the APEX facility next door just in time to save the day from this pandemic. Live fights will be produced out of there starting next month and for the foreseeable future.”

These latest comments from Bennett may well have thrown White’s plans into chaos. The card scheduled for May 9 will not have a home until the NSAC make a decision about how to move forward at the end of April.

One alternative could be found in White’s much talked about fight island. A private island has been secured by the UFC to host fights. The infrastructure is currently being built and White predicts he’ll be able to host fights on the island sooner rather than later.

Will the NSAC shut down UFC’s plans to host an event on May 9?

NSAC Director Backs Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler Stoppage

Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Director Bob Bennett sides with Herb Dean’s decision to stop the Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler bout at UFC 235. Last night’s (March 2) welterweight scrap between Askren and Lawler ended in controversy….

The post NSAC Director Backs Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler Stoppage appeared first on MMA News.

NAC Executive Director: Kevin Lee Was Medically Fit to Fight at UFC 216

Kevin Lee may have fought with a staph infection, but Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) executive director Bob Bennett says the fighter was fit to compete. Last night (Oct. 7), Lee took on Tony Ferguson for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title. The bout headlined UFC 216. Ferguson earned a third-round submission victory. One […]

NSAC Stands By Decision To Let Kevin Lee Fight At UFC 216

Not surprisingly, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) won’t give any weight to the notion that UFC lightweight Kevin Lee, who barely made weight and apparently had a significant staph infection heading into his interim title bout with Tony Ferguson at last night’s UFC 216 from Las Vegas, maybe shouldn’t have been allowed to fight. […]

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After a harrowing scene at the UFC 216 early weigh-ins on Friday where “The Motown Phenom” missed weight on his first attempt before making it at the last minute after he was given one hour to lose a pound, Octagon commentator Joe Rogan immediately noticed that Lee had a large staph infection on his chest when he got into the cage to fight “El Cucuy.”

The ailment almost certainly played into his difficult weight cut, and it also may have caused him to tire earlier than normal as it drained his body. Indeed he faded a bit in the third round after an impressive start to the interim title fight, ultimately losing to a Ferguson triangle choke. But NSAC executive director Bob Bennett stood by the commission’s decision to let Lee fight, telling MMA Fighting today that two of doctors deemed him medically able to compete:

“My lead ringside physician found Lee medically fit to fight,” Bennett said. “He was examined by our lead ringside physician, along with another ringside physician. Both felt he was medically fit to fight.”

As for the staph infection, Lee admitted that he tried to hide it for as long as possible because after so many high-profile bouts had fallen through at the last minute for the UFC recently, he was motivated to show up and fight in his:

“I tried my best to hide it,” Lee said.“You know, it’s a big event, a lot has been happening with the UFC, these last couple events and I wasn’t going to let nobody down. I worked my whole life for this, it was like a culmination of things. But I’m not going to let this stop me.”

Lee revealed to Rogan that he should most likely have been on antibiotics in the days before UFC 216, and even though the weight cut ended up brutally tiring on him, he was going to do whatever it took to make weight for his hyped bout with Ferguson:

“It was what it was,” Lee said. “I was going to make the weight, even if I had to cut my foot off or something. I said it before, it damn near killed me and I had to do what I had to do. I had a job to do, I’m a professional and I’m going to come out here no matter how bad it hurts. I’m going to come out here and I feel like I put my best performance on tonight, but by the third round it was too much for me.”

Based on the severity of the weight cut, ‘The Motown Phenom’ teased a move up to welterweight for future bouts, something that has proved fruitful for other contenders who have stopped depleting their bodies to the limit in order to gain a size advantage.

But if you ask the NSAC, there wasn’t anything wrong that should have raised suspicion – even if he fought another human with an obvious infection. Should the commission thought longer about allowing him to compete?

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Scorned GGG vs. Canelo Judge Could Still Score UFC 216

Frequently known to produce head-scratching scorecards in big fights, Las Vegas judge Adalaide Byrd saw her critics rise to a never-before-seen level when she scored last Saturday’s massive GGG vs. Canelo Alvarez an astounding 118-110 for Alvarez in a bout many felt Golovkin had won, resulting in a jaw-dropping draw overall. After the disappointing result […]

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After the disappointing result in a fight most boxing purists felt was supposed to re-establish the legitimacy of their sport following the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor spectacle of last month, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) voiced their continued support for Byrd, whose judging saw her as the sole disagreeing score in six split decisions in MMA last year according to MMA Decisions.

But now, they could be waffling on that support – or something. NSAC executive director Bob Bennett told MMA Fighting this week that he would speak with chairman Anthony Marnell, and together they would decideByrd’s fate for the upcoming UFC 216 pay-per-view on October 7 from Las Vegas:

“I will speak with the chairman (Anthony Marnell III) and Adalaide and we will decide in a week or so.”

That was a bit of a departure from Bennett’s previous assessment of the situation, however, as he previously told The Independent that he would give Byrd ‘a break’ as she needed to ‘catch her breath’:

“I’m not going to put her right back in. She’ll still be in the business, but she needs to catch her breath.

“Like in any profession, you have a bad night. Unfortunately, she didn’t do well. I can tell you she conducts training for us, takes judges under her wing, but her score was too wide.”

Indeed the 118-110 score was ‘too wide,’ with a massive windfall of criticism befalling both Byrd and the NSAC for employing her, with some even going as far as to suggest widespread corruption in the grossly uneven draw, where judge Dave Moretti had it 115-113 in favor of Golovkin, and Don Trella scored it an even 114-114.

UFC 216 will feature two title fights when Tony Ferguson meets rising Kevin Lee for the interim lightweight title in the main event while Demetrious Johnson attempts to set the all-time record for consecutive UFC title defenses versus Ray Borg in the co-main event. Needless to say, those are two fights that could certainly do without the inconsistency of Byrd’s judging.

For her part, Byrd absolutely refused to address the situation to MMA Fighting, stating she was oblivious to the criticism so therefore could not comment in a laughable bit of deflection:

“I don’t know anything about that. That’s really all I can say.

“I can’t comment on anything, because I haven’t seen or read anything at all,” Byrd said. “I can’t comment, because I don’t even know what people are saying.”

If she truly does not know what people are saying about her farce of a score for boxing’s most hotly contested bout of 2017, then perhaps the NSAC should take some responsibility for once and give her the break Bennett previously discussed.

After all, it’s just not worth putting fighters’ livelihoods on the line in a sport where the hurt each other for money, especially in a city like Las Vegas where capable judges would seem to be readily available. What do you think? Should Byrd be put on temporary hiatus, or should she simply be let go outright?

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