Should it have been a disqualification or a no contest? That’s the question many in the MMA world were asking following the [autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag]-[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag] fight on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 34.
The bout ended with a technical decision in favor of Buday following an illegal elbow to the back of Barnett’s head in Round 3 of their heavyweight contest. Because referee Dan Miragliotta determined the elbow to be accidental and not intentional, the fight went to the judges’ scorecards, with Buday being awarded a unanimous decision despite landing the illegal blow that ended the fight.
Many fighters questioned the ruling as they thought Buday’s elbow was far from accidental. Below is how several UFC fighters reacted.