Steven Marrocco of MMAJunkie.com gets answers to the questions everybody had in regards to the officiating at Saturday's "Strikeforce: Houston" along with whether "King Mo" Lawal and KJ Noons were allowed to use portable oxygen cans:
Regarding the oxygen:
And while many have suggested Lawal and Noons could have gained an unfair advantage with the breathing aid, (Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Public Information Officer Susan) Stanford said oxygen is not prohibited by the commission (Combative Sports Program statutes do not specifically address the use of oxygen; Stanford said banned substances include Monsel's solution, silver nitrate, ammonium capsules and smelling salts).
"It's my understanding that the physician did consult with the ringside physician, and it was approved by the physician," Stanford said. "It was within (the rules)."
Here's what Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Luke Thomas on last night's edition of MMA Nation:
"You know, I'll tell you, the cans, the oxygen cans were brought to our attention actually this morning by one of our guys and I didn't see any anything, but I heard that they [Noons and Lawal] were taking some oxygen. Like you say, canned oxygen. So, we're going to look into it, but right now I just don't have enough information so I don't want to comment until I find out what it was. And from what I hear everything that they did was approved by the commission, so we'll talk to them and have a conversation with them."
As for the officiating, here's the official word, first on the fight between Noons and Jorge Gurgel:
"[TDLR] representative Greg Alvarez said the strike was already started when the (final) bell rang," Stanford said. "That's the position of TDLR. No action will be taken against the referee."
Now for the standup from the mount by referee John Schorle in the Bobby Lashley/Chad Griggs fight:
While Lashley was cut near the end of the first round, Stanford contends that Shorley saw the cut when he stood the fighters up due to what he felt was a lack of action.
"The referee felt there was a lull in action, and he had gotten them to their feet when he saw the cut," Stanford said. "[The referee] had the doctor look at it, and then started the action again on their feet."
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