Instant replay instant replay

MMAjunkie.com is reporting that instant replay could be used in UFC fights as early as the end of the year. The story quotes Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer as saying, “We’re trying to find out if there’s a way to do limited instant replay. We’re hoping to find a way to do that.”

Instant replay would’ve come in handy during last week’s UFC 99 when Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic went all Three Stooges on Mostapha Al-turk with a poke to both eyes that referee Dan Miragliotta failed to see. Stunned by the attack, Al-turk turned away and covered his face, allowing Cro Cop to beat on him until Miragliotta finally stopped the fight giving the Croatian the TKO victory.

Kizer also doesn’t see instant replay taking the decision-making out of the hands of the referee or the judges. He explained that a potentially illegal blow that immediately leads to the end of the bout would be the only situation in which instant replay would be used:

“Let’s say the referee doesn’t stop [a fight following an illegal blow] – the knee was down and the guy got kneed in the head but the fight continued and the referee didn’t stop it, there’s nothing you can do about that now because of the continuation. It would only be those situations where there’s an immediate stoppage of the fight and the ref wants to know was it an illegal blow, an intentional foul or an accidental foul that immediately stopped the fight. Then it would still be [the referee’s] discretion. It wouldn’t be up to the commission. It wouldn’t be the corner. It wouldn’t be the promoter. It would be the referee’s decision, just like in football. If he looks at it and he can’t tell, you’ve got to go with the original call.”

Sounds good to me. Instant replay works in the NHL and NFL. And with everybody watching multiple instant replays at home, we can all see what the right call should be even if the ref immediately doesn’t. As long as it doesn’t slow down the pace of a fight, and Kizer’s explanation makes it clear that it won’t, then bring on the slo-mo instant replay.