UFC Fight Night 39 results: Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya ends in 39-second no-contest

ABU DHABI – An accidental head-butt, a no-contest and a post-bout showdown that nearly turned into a fight after the fight? Talk about your bizarre beginnings.

Johnny Bedford thought he had himself a first-round TKO win over Rani Yahya, only to see it ruled a no-contest as the replay clearly showed that a clash of heads left Yahya stunned and unresponsive as Bedford teed off on him, bringing a halt to the bout at the 0:39 mark of the first round.

The bantamweight bout kicked off today’s UFC Fight Night 39 preliminary card. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass from du Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The head-butt happened as they often do in MMA, with both fighters moving in to throw punches almost simultaneously. Bedford’s forehead met Yahya’s face, splitting open Bedford and dropping Yahya to his knees. From there Bedford followed up with several clean punches before the referee could move in to stop it, yet the blood on his head should have given him some pause during his post-fight celebration.

Instead, Bedford looked stunned as the bout was called a no-contest. In a post-fight interview with color commentator Dan Hardy, he complained of the call and asked for a rematch with Yahya in his home state of Texas.

“This is ridiculous,” Bedford said. “He’s running, trying to take a shot. Our heads, I guess, bumped. I’m cut from it, but I’m standing here. I knock him, he falls down, and I’m getting a no-contest? June. Texas. Come to my house. Let’s fight.”

For his part, Yahya still seemed slightly dazed, not to mention a little annoyed at Bedford’s implication that he deserved the win.

“I respect him,” Yahya said, “but you see, there’s a head-butt there. There’s nothing I can do. I’m ready, man. I’m ready to fight anytime. I’m ready to fight here.”

Bedford, it seemed, took that last sentence a little too literally. He stepped forward as if to challenge Yahya to a fight after the fight, telling the Brazilian, “I’ll knock you out again.”

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the fighters were separated before things could escalate. Somehow, however, it doesn’t seem like that will be the end of this one.

Bedford (19-10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will have to wait a little longer to get back in the win column following a loss to Bryan Caraway a year ago. Yahya (19-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) also follows a loss with this no-contest.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 39 results include:

• Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya declared no-contest (accidental head butt) – Round 1, 0:39

For more on UFC Fight Night 39, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(John Morgan contributed to this report from on site in Abu Dhabi.)