For a moment, it appeared Bobby Green picked up a knockout win at UFC Fight Night 222.
Referee Keith Peterson stopped Green (29-14-1 MMA, 10-9-1 UFC) from raining down punches on the fallen Jared Gordon at 4:35 of the opening round. While Green began celebrating a victory and medical officials tended to Gordon (19-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC), the athletic commission reviewed a replay of the ending sequence of the fight, ultimately declaring the official result a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads.
It was a wild sequence.
Green charged forward head-first, looking to land a left hand. He clashed heads with Gordon, who immediately dropped to the canvas. Green followed up with punches, and the referee stopped the action. The commentary team, most vocally Paul Felder, was very upset seeing his friend and training partner Gordon on the wrong end of the unfortunate ending.
Check out video of the ending sequence below (via Twitter):
A clash of heads between Green and Gordon leads to a no contest. #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/UhLRbFn4oO
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 23, 2023
Both fighters were upset with the outcome, but shook hands and hugged after the official result was read by announcer Joe Martinez.
Controversy leads to the end of this one
It's ruled a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/hRXRIE4oL1
— UFC (@ufc) April 23, 2023
Both fighters were looking to bounce back into the win column, and for a moment, Green thought he did just that.
Green, 36, entered on a two fight skid, following losses to current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Drew Dober. His last victory came against Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271 last February.
Gordon, 34, walks away from the octagon with another unfortunate result. He entered on the heels of a controversial decision loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 282 in December. Prior to the setback on the hotly-debated scorecards, he picked up a unanimous decision win over Leonardo Santos at UFC 278.
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 222 include:
- Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon ruled a no contest (accidental clash of heads) Round 1, 4:35
- Iasmin Lucindo def. Brogan Walker via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jeremiah Wells def. Matthew Semelsberger via split decision (30-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Christos Giagos def. Ricky Glenn via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:35
- Montel Jackson def. Rani Yahya via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:42
- Norma Dumont def. Karol Rosa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mohammed Usman def. Junior Tafa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- William Gomis def. Francis Marshall via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Brady Hiestand def. Danaa Batgerel via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:21
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 222.
