Rousimar Palhares' controversial split-decision loss at FNG 73 overturned

Rousimar Palhares’ split-decision loss to Shamil Amirov at Fight Nights Global 73 has been overturned to a draw.

Fight Nights Global President Kamil Gadzhiev said the initial result – announced without scores at the Sept. 4 event – was changed after the bout was reviewed by the Russian MMA Union.

“If fighters are not happy with the decision, fighters themselves, or their management, send an official protest letter to the Russian MMA Union,” Gadzhiev today told MMAjunkie. “They invite three new judges, they watch again, and they can change the decision. Sometimes, they change the decision.”

Earlier this month, Palhares’ longtime manager, Alex Davis, wrote a letter of protest directly to Fight Nights Global, arguing Palhares (19-8-1) was the clear aggressor in the fights’ second and third round and nearly finished Amirov (3-0-1) by submission.

That letter appears to have gotten immediate results. It also differs starkly from a previous fight overseen by the Russia MMA Union; the government-sanctioned regulatory body famously refused to overturn Fedor Emelianenko’s decision win over Fabio Maldonado, leading a self-reported nonprofit organization to intervene and overturn the fight to a draw.

In that case, the new scorecards were released to the media. MMAjunkie was unable to obtain the new tallies for Pahlares vs. Amirov.

The new official result will be forwarded to the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper, mixedmartialarts.com.

Davis applauded Fight Nights Global and the Russia MMA Union for their quick action.

“Different than here in the U.S., they were willing to recognize and correct an obvious error,” he wrote to MMAjunkie in a prepared statement. “When I started sending my guys over to Russia to fight, there was some worry as how we would be treated. And there were some organizational problems, which are normal. But turns out that the guys that are going there are being well and fairly treated. This opens up a new horizon for fighters.”

Davis said Palhares’ next career move is not set. The Brazilian submission specialist, who’s been the subject of multiple disciplinary complaints for holding submissions too long and elevated testosterone levels, is now 1-0-1 with Fight Nights Global. In his July promotional debut, he bounced back after a pair of knockout losses with a 37-second submission win over Aleksei Ivanov.