CABMMA believes Casey ‘forged’ injury

There was a controversial moment during the Claudia Gadelha vs. Cortney Casey fight at UFC Fight Night 100 on Saturday in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In the third round, Gadelha threw a kick at the downed Casey that appeared to land to the head, which is illegal under the Unified Rules of mixed martial arts. Casey appeared to be stunned, but eventually continued.

The commentators were baffled when referee Fernando Portella declined to deduct a point. Although it would not have made a difference in the final outcome – a unanimous decision for Gadelha – rules have to be followed or there is no reason to have them.

At the post-fight press conference, Gadelha apologized but said she didn’t believe there was an actual foul.

“I don’t think the kick landed,” said Gadelha, as transcribed by Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting. “I was expecting her to get up. She pretended she was going to get up but she sat back down, so I threw the kick anyway. That’s why I said sorry.”

Casey was not impressed.

“She won,” said Casey after the loss. “And she kicked me in the head.”

The Hawaiian fighter was even more adamant about the kick on her social network.

“I’m disappointed in my performance but more so that fans would think I would resort to faking an injury when I have proven time and time again I will fight anyone in any circumstance,” she wrote. “The shin hit my forehead and the foot hit my bun. Claudia apologized in the fight & multiple times afterward and that’s all I personally need.”

The video was not completely conclusive, but ‘Cast Iron’ certainly appeared to get soccer kicked in the head.

Cruz reached out to the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission’s COO Cristiano Sampaio, to find out why there was no point deduction.

“Because the kick didn’t land, the athlete forged the injury,” wrote Sampaio in a statement. “Had she not done that, and not used that time to her benefit and rest, he would have deducted the point. Had the kick landed, Claudia could get two points deducted or being disqualified. (Casey’s) conduct was wrong and unsportsmanlike, which could even be interpreted by the referee as she was giving up on the fight. The point was not deducted because of her attitude. It was an atypical situation and [the referee] acted correctly under our interpretation.”