Despite no-contest call, UFC to pay Abel Trujillo his win bonus

INDIANAPOLIS – Abel Trujillo (10-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) won’t leave Indianapolis with a win on his record, but his bank account won’t notice the difference.

Trujillo delivered a series of knees to a downed Roger Bowling (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the first bout of Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 27 event, and the last blow of the series was deemed illegal. With Bowling unable to continue, the bout was ruled a no contest, but UFC President Dana White said he believes the strike was a legal effort and Trujillo should be rewarded as such

“Those shots were not illegal,” White said at the evening’s post-event press conference. “The first one hit him in the chest, and the second hit him in the shoulder.”

UFC Fight Night 27 took place at Indianapolis’ Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The evening’s main card aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims that aired on FOX Sports 2 and streamed on Facebook.

Trujillo and Bowling met in the night’s very first fight, and the contest was a spirited affair for almost two full rounds. But when the strikes landed with just three seconds left in the second round, Bowling was deemed unfit to continue, and the bout was ruled a no contest when referee Rob Hinds decided the illegal knee was delivered unintentionally.

After the fight, an exasperated Trujillo proclaimed that both shots were delivered to the chest and that a follow-up punch was the blow that actually did the most damage.

“Both of those knees were legal,” Trujillo said. “I saw he was breaking, and I hit the second knee at the top of his chest. The punch is what really hurt him. He acted his way to a no contest.”

White doesn’t have the authority to change the result of a contest, but he can offer up extra payment wherever he deems fit, and the UFC boss said Trujillo will cash in on a win bonus regardless of what the official record reflects.

“That kid should’ve won that fight, and I’m going to pay him his win bonus,” White said.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 27, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Abel Trujillo)