Mauro Ranallo rules confusion at Strikeforce Challengers
Without question, the most memorable part of Friday night’s Strikeforce Challengers 12 broadcast came not from the fights, but during…
Without question, the most memorable part of Friday night’s Strikeforce Challengers 12 broadcast came not from the fights, but during an unexpected television appearance by Strikeforce rules director Cory Schafer. After the tepidly anticipated bout between Marius Zaromskis and Waachiim Spiritwolf was declared a no contest when Zaromskis opened the first round with a flying finger to Spiritwolf’s eyeball, Schafer didn’t just afford himself well during his 30 seconds on camera with Mauro Ranallo, he owned it. In fact, immediately following five minutes of the Strikeforce announce team bitching about how no one understands the rules of MMA, Schafer gave the impression that he’d been waiting his whole life to come on TV and tell us all – especially Mauro – off about it. Also, Strikeforce has a rules director. Who knew?
There still seems to be confusion in this sport, Ranallo asked Schafer, after the play-by-play man had just been complaining long and loud about how Spiritwolf shouldn’t be given any time to recover from Zaromski’s eye-jab. I’ve been around a long time … what is the ruling when it comes to an accidental eye poke? I’ve always been under the impression that you’re only allowed five minutes for a groin strike, a low blow. Everything else, if you can’t continue you have to tell the referee and the fight will then be judged.
Well, unfortunately you’re under the wrong impression …, Schafer responded, with enough scorn in his voice that someone off camera exclaimed ‘oh!’ in seeming embarrassment for Ranallo. The referee has the discretion to give the fighter up to five minutes to recover after any kind of accidental foul.
Now, is that in the rule book? asked the still incredulous Ranallo.
Absolutely it is, Schafer said.
Schafer then launched into a spirited and well articulated defense of the rules, the Mississippi State Athletic Commission and the no contest ruling. It was the kind of authoritative and knowledgeable performance that made you wonder – not knowing anything at all about the man – why Cory Schafer isn’t running all of Strikeforce.
After the show Mauro made this post on his Twitter account:
VINDICATION! Big John McCarthy will join me on Monday’s Fight Show to explain why I was right regarding the handling of the eye poke Friday
Clearly Mauro feels he is right and Corey Schafer is wrong, so I decided to call up the man who actually wrote the clarification of the unified rules dealing with fouls and recovery times, Nick Lembo, counsel to the NJSACB.
Nick said that Schafer was right and Mauro is still incorrect:
Fighter who is not fouled by low blow but another foul: If a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts is stopped because of an accidental foul, the referee shall determine whether the unarmed combatant who has been fouled can continue or not. If the unarmed combatant’s chance of winning has not been seriously jeopardized as a result of the foul and if the foul did not involve a concussive impact to the head of the unarmed combatant who has been fouled, the referee may order the contest or exhibition continued after a recuperative interval of not more than 5 minutes. Immediately after separating the unarmed combatants, the referee shall inform the Commission’s representative of his determination that the foul was accidental.
There it is in black and white. Eye-poked fighters get up to five minutes to recover. Period.