MMAVu

We could be seeing this soon...

So now, a referee will be able to get a second look at a fight’s end, in order to determine if it was legit or not. Obviously, a fighter or their camp will need to let the ref know that a replay is indeed warranted, but the referee has the sole discretion of choosing whether or not to review the tape.

This rule takes care of several recent controversial stoppages, where a fighter lost because the referee did not see that his opponent was accidentally injured by an illegal strike/move. Two most famous, or infamous, bouts that spring to mind, are Mirko Cro Cop vs Mustapha Al-Turk at UFC 99 and Anthony Johnson vs Kevin Burns at UFN 14.

Last July, Burns and Johnson were trading strikes like two Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em robots, when an errant eye-poke felled Johnson. The referee missed the eye poke, and assumed that an uppercut had sent Johnson crashing to the matt. The NSAC did not overturn the TKO for Burns, due to a lack of a remedy.

A similar thing happened to Mustapha Al-Turk, as he turtled after getting one of the little Mirkos in his eye. Cro Cop poured it on, taking the bout by TKO seconds later. The new rule could take effect in as early as 30 days.

"The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko

Yes, according to a report from the LA Times.

A long-awaited agreement between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the man considered the world’s best mixed martial arts fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, is expected to be announced by UFC President Dana White on Friday

If true, this would be arguably the biggest week in MMA history. Affliction cancels its third event and then folds, then immediately joins the UFC fold. Tito Ortiz is on the brink of coming back to the UFC, and now there’s word that the undisputed (except to UFC folk, and really, it’s their job to dispute it) top heavyweight in the world Fedor Emelianenko is almost signed, sealed and delivered.

The UFC has a press conference scheduled this Friday, to announce a number of things, and MMA fans are crossing their fingers one of those items is about signing Fedor. The Russian Cyborg is the last big-name, big-time fighters out there, and now is the time to bring him on board before the 32yr old gets too old.

UFC President has said Fedor would receive an immediate title shot at Brock Lesnar should he be able to land the Russian; only time and Dana will tell.

Besides, whoever can look menacing while wearing a digital wristwatch is gold in my book. Check out the Fedor highlights, especially the fight against Kevin Randleman at the :51 second mark.