Last night was the unveiling of UFC's 25th anniversary show, and it was also the first time 'limited replay' was in use.
The replay was used to check a ref error in stopping a fight due to submission stoppage (by D'arce choke).
Bobby Moffett was the fighter engaged in battle with Chas Skelly as he was finally securing head way in winning the round, the fight, and tightening the submission.
When one has a D'arce choke, they basically have thier arms around the opponent's neck with the opposite (of the wrapping) hand gripping the bicep of the wrap hand. With that type of clinch grab, the tension becomes immense and the choke will come sooner or later...
The thing is, these guys were positioned perpendicular to each other on the mat so Moffeet had to try and wrap Skelly's legs with his own to basically torque the body into itself..
It's a pretty nasty choke and Skelly did everything he could to escape it.
In relaxing to escape, the ref mistakenly believe he had fallen unconscious.
The error was realized when Skelly seemed perfectly fine once the choke was released, it seemed as though he was nearly out but not quite there.. and that is a shame since a fight isn't over UNTIL IT'S OVER. The ref used the limited replay and proved its uselessness by defending his case and not paying attention to the other elements that may have given the men a chance to restart the fight.
Here is Chas explaining the controversy and why he wasn't out:
Replay will only test the egos of refs and fighters, and I see now why mixed martial arts doesn't need a replay button.
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