Here’s an explanation behind the unusual finish to Joanderson Brito vs. Diego Lopes on Dana White’s Contender Series.
The highly-anticipated Dana White’s Contender Series bout between Diego Lopes and Joanderson Brito ended in an unusual fashion, with Brito earning a technical decision win after he unintentionally poked Lopes in the eye and severely impairing Lopes’ ability to continue.
A technical decision in MMA is when a fight goes into the third round or beyond, and is stopped by an unintentional foul by one of the fighters. In this case, the eye-poke occurred in Round 3 between Lopes and Brito, with referee Chris Tognoni deducting a point from Brito.
Brito would go on to win the fight, despite the point deduction, 29-28.
Why was Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling ruled a disqualification and not a technical decision?
Fans may be wondering why Lopes vs. Brito was ruled in such a manner, but Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling ended under similar but different circumstances. Officials determined that Yan landed an intentional knee to a downed Sterling in Round 4, resulting in Sterling earning the win and the UFC bantamweight title.