Gabriel Gonzaga's camp plans to appeal TUF 17 Finale loss due to illegal elbows

Gabriel Gonzaga‘s manager plans to file an appeal with the Nevada State Athletic Commission following the heavyweight’s controversial loss to Travis Browne this past weekend.

Gonzaga (14-7 MMA, 9-6 UFC) suffered a quick TKO defeat after Browne (14-1-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) connected with a series of elbow strikes during their main-card bout at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, which took place this past Saturday at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

As Gonzaga worked for a takedown and had his opponent pressed against the cage, Browne unloaded six successive elbow strikes before referee Chris Tognoni could halt the action just 71 seconds into the first round.

The first two or three blows, which essentially knocked out Gonzaga (and earned Browne a $50,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus), appeared to land legally to the side of the head. But subsequent ones clearly landed to the back of the head as Gonzaga’s body slumped to the mat.

Marco Alvan, Gonzaga’s manager, took to Facebook to issue a statement in English and his native Portuguese:

“Guys Gabriel Gonzaga is ok, thanks for the messages. I need to review it to count how many illegal elbows but Its a fact that it was illegal. I contacted Keith Kizer head of Nevada Athletic Comission and he told me to file a complaint and he would review it. I true believe it was illegal. I never complaint about a losses who knows me know that I handle it good but illegal we can not accept.”

I very hope the commission look it carefully and make a correct decision about it. We respect Travis and his camp but it was a sad night. We hope this result can be fixed and get a new fight between them. I don’t know who post it but thanks to clarify for all of us!

The loss snapped Gonzaga’s three-fight win streak. The former UFC title challenger had defeated Ednaldo Oliveira and Ben Rothwell in his previous two bouts following a return to the organization.

For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.