Anthony Johnson and his management team were unsuccessful in their bid to have "Rumble's" technical knockout loss to Kevin Burns at UFC Fight Night 14 overturned and ruled a no contest.
Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Keith Kizer today confirmed the ruling via email.
Here's the snip:
"Based on advice from the Nevada Attorney General's office, the appeal was rejected due to lack of remedy."
Video replays of the third round stoppage show that "Rumble" was felled by an unintentional eye poke and not an uppercut. The referee in charge of the action, Steve Mazzagatti, unfortunately did not have the benefit of watching instant replay and called a halt to the 170-pound bout.
Johnson eventually had to undergo eye surgery to repair a damaged retina.
It's important to note that Johnson and Mazzagatti crossed paths at a smaller show several weeks after the match and Mazzagatti apologized for the bad call.
There's no word yet on when Johnson will return to action and it's likely that this loss -- while official -- will forever have an imaginary asterisk beside it and not do much if anything to affect his current status with the promotion.