The Weekly Wrap: August 22 - August 28

CSAC activity

The California State Athletic Commission made several notable rulings at its hearing this past week.

The commission voted to change the result of a May 15 fight between Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina in Fresno, Calif., to a no-contest. The bout, which headlined the first Strikeforce Challengers event, saw referee Herb Dean step in after Evangelista landed a knee that looked to hit Aina in the head while he was down, an illegal strike. Replays clearly showed the knee hit Aina's shoulder, a legal strike. Following testimony from Dean, the commission changed the result, thus erasing the lone loss from Evangelista's record.

In later discussion, it was highlighted that state regulations do not allow officials to use instant replay footage to review fight decisions. The commission discussed adopting an instant replay provision, which Nevada's commission approved last week. Instant replay would be applied in cases like the Evangelista-Aina fight, where there is ambiguity about the legality of a fight-ending blow. New Jersey has had a similar provision since 2007.

The commission also approved an amateur MMA circuit in the state, to be run by an organization called the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO). The non-profit group, headed by former EliteXC executives Jeremy Lappen and J.T. Steele, has complete control over the amateur circuit in the state and must promulgate its regulations.

Additionally, the commission extended a hearing date for Josh Barnett to October. Barnett is protesting a one-year freeze on his ability to apply for a new license after he failed a steroid test, which caused the cancellation of his scheduled fight with Fedor Emelianenko on Aug. 1.