California State Athletic Commission Director Andy Foster supports Jon Jones‘ appeal to overturn his sole career loss due to disqualification for illegal elbows, citing changes in MMA rules and the controversial nature of the original decision.
One of the most influential athletic commission directors is on Jon Jones’ side.
This past weekend at UFC Edmonton, the MMA landscape shifted. The new unified rules made their debut, tweaking the “grounded opponent” definition and removing the ban on “12 to 6 elbows.” Small changes, big impact—especially for fighters like Jon Jones.
Remember The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in 2009? Jones faced his only career loss, disqualified by referee Steve Mazzagatti for those infamous elbows against Matt Hamill. With the rule change, Jones is lobbying to have that loss erased. And guess what? Andy Foster from the California State Athletic Commission has his back.
“The rule is what it was then. It’s different now,” Foster told Ariel Helwani. “It would be hard to go back. I’d be actually supportive of getting rid of that, but it’s not my decision.” A tricky situation indeed!
Foster continued, “Yeah, [the result changed] to a no-contest.” He didn’t like how things were handled back then, suggesting other ways could’ve been explored instead of slapping a loss on Jones.
Mazzagatti’s call was controversial. Jones was dominating; Hamill was almost done before those illegal strikes. Foster thinks Mazzagatti could’ve taken another route.
“Disqualification should be the last resort,” Foster emphasized. “Referees have many tools at their disposal. We train them extensively to use every option before disqualifying a fighter.”
Herb Dean? The gold standard in refereeing, according to Foster. Methodical and thorough, Herb rarely disqualifies anyone. He’s got a process—a checklist he goes through before making such a call.
But here’s the kicker: Foster isn’t the one who can change history for Jones; that fight was in Vegas. Despite support from various quarters, this blemish on Jones’ record might just remain part of MMA folklore—the lone loss in an otherwise stellar career.