Instant replay comes to MMA
Instant replay has become an institution for most major sporting events all over the world, and last year the sport of mixed martial arts stepped into that arena when the New Jersey Athletic Control Board instituted the policy, and now it has been instituted in practice as well.
At an event held by New Breed Fighters, an amateur MMA promotion, a ruling by a referee was overturned by the commission after video review.
The fight between Joel Roberts and Ryan Vaccaro was stopped after an apparent tap from Vaccaro, but referee Donnie Caroli was adamant that he did not see a tap from the fighter.
New Jersey Deputy Attorney General Nick Lembo, who was ringside, stepped in and reviewed the video tape after the controversy -- per the instant replay rule passed last year -- and after several views decided that there was indeed a tap.
After the ruling, the fight was indeed stopped and Roberts declared the winner.
While the instant replay rule had not previously played out in an MMA fight, this newest development could give credence to a standard that has been a major cause of getting the call right in other major sports for years.
