Kizer says it’s time for instant replay
Mixed martial arts is no different than any other sport. The action is simply too fast to officiate without some help from modern technology. Major League Baseball, the NBA and NFL all use replay and now Keith Kizer, the director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission says it may be time to use replay cageside for MMA fights. His comments were prompted because of yet another eyepoke that was missed by an MMA referee. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic got a win over Mostapha Al-Turk at UFC 99, but the beginning of the end for the big Brit came when the Croatian jabbed him in the right eye. Al-Turk got pounded out the same way Anthony Johnson (pictured on the right) did back at Ultimate Fight Night 14 against Kevin Burns. Both were officially handed losses. The fights should've been stopped with an opportunity to restart, ruled a no-contest or decide the result by going to the scorecards.
Kizer told MMAJunkie Radio there's a growing need to give some help to the officials and fighters:
"We're trying to find out if there's a way to do limited instant replay. We're hoping to find a way to do that."
Kizer said the problems in both of those controversial fights could've been avoided:
"Let's say the doctor looked at Mr. Al Turk, or the situation we had with Anthony Johnson, and says, 'He can not continue.' So the fight's over, so it's not going to change the strategy whether the referee changes his mind on the call. In those situations, then the ref can look at it and say, 'You know what, it was an accidental foul. Let's go to the scorecards.' Or in the other situation, 'I thought it was an accidental foul to go to the scorecards, but on instant replay it was actually a legal punch.' Either way, the fighter could not continue, so it wouldn't have mattered, and we can take our time and look at it."
Kizer gave credit to former NSAC director Marc Ratner, now a VP with the UFC, for originally floating the replay idea. Cagewriter spoke with Ratner on fight night immediately after the Burns-Johnson debacle back in July of 2008 and he mentioned it then.
Kizer said it's possible the NSAC could institute replay by the end of 2009.
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