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May 9, 2016

MSAC Overturns Cardarelli Vs Aiello and Opens Pandora's Box


So close they could taste it!  Aiello Vs Cardarelli do battle in the Cage Titans cage








At the beginning of the video we hear Mark Cardarelli calling the commissioners attention to the fact that Dr. D. had been calling for referee Kevin MacDonald to check the eye of fighter Andy Aiello.  Was it just to call attention to the eye so Kevin had the opportunity to intervene if he felt necessary?  Give Kevin just cause to call the bout off if he felt the eye caused significant risk of further injury?  To my basic understanding of the language he used coming from this second hand source (I first omit the tone, inflection, and intent present in the recount due to the bias of the person relating the information) the doctor called into the cage to check the eye of Andy Aiello and Kevin did not halt the bout which was in motion with lots of activity from both fighters.  There was no clear information about the timing of the verbalization. There was no follow up where Dr. D. intervened because Kevin hadn't.  Dr. D. was not said to be in motion at the time the round was ending where it was clear he would have intervened had he made it to the cage door.  So to me that seems like we weren't in any immediate danger of the bout being stopped for medical necessity and fighter safety as stated in SAC_MMA_RULE_14.15 and 14.16
     
     I assert that the timekeeper's error is not a factor in determining the correct winner of the match. Instead I believe that the premature end to the third round constitutes an "unforeseen circumstance".   The round was more than half over which then requires that the judges score it. Fortunately there is a provision for this found in 523 CMR 16.04_5 and the match has to be decided using the judges scores up to that moment.

    
 In the video the commission grants a "No Contest" based on 523 CMR 14.21_3 because on May 5th 2016 they believed that the timekeeper's error lead Ref Kevin MacDonald to end the round early and then render an incorrect decision.  I feel that they were trying to fit a round peg in a square hole on this one and if you listen carefully you can hear the commission's legal counselor at 10min38sec of the video say that the wording could be better.  This is because they were not considering  523 CMR 16.04_5 at that time.  The rules clearly state that an error in the interpretation of the provisions in the chapter would have had to have caused the referee to render an incorrect decision which is not the same as stopping the match due to an error committed by an acting agent of the commission and therefore excludes the commission from having the authority to overturn the judges decision.


 If you followed all that than you may see this as I do and agree that Remo Cardarelli should in fact still be able to keep the "W" for his very own.  The commission is not to be thought poorly of though. This was not an easy process to work through in the short time they gave to it's consideration, without all concerned parties present, and without a thorough reading of the 523 CMR sections 14 and 16. It is my hope that the commissioners will give Remo back his victory in person at a future meeting.  The regs are very precise with little room for loose interpretation.  There is language that covers 99% of the issues found in and around Mixed Martial Arts contests.   I applaud Andy Aiello and Remo Cardarelli for their professionalism while this matter was sorting itself out.  I hope that the commission takes the time to revisit this issue after they've notified all involved parties of a date in writing.  The same as they do for big name pro fighters like Matt Mitrione and Travis Browne. Anything less could be seen as a sign that local fighters who aren't on the biggest stages are not worthy of courtesy and don't matter.  If the commission does not revisit this and reverse it's reassignment of "no contest" to "W' for Remo than they open themselves up to having more requests for appeals based on timekeeper errors and possibly staining the integrity of Mixed Martial Arts fought in MA.  I know that the title fight between Taylor Trahan and Frank Sforza would have to be looked at under this new precedent. 

I'm more than happy to write on the sport and the events in the cage, but make no mistake about it I love times like these when I get to sit in a room with well educated men and women who are doing an amazing job of sparring verbally in very real ways using specialized rule sets.  For a look at those rules consider reading the Roberts Rules of Order wiki page.  I look forward to your feedback, comments, and criticism.    I have to thank several people for giving me generous amounts of their time and knowledge in the writing of this article.  They know who they are and when I see them around the cages I'll thank them personally.  Without all of you I would only have half as much fun.  Together we can keep our sport and our state the best in the nation for all combat sports enthusiasts and combatants.
~Joe Leonard