Cole Miller appealing Manny Gamburyan 'loss' at UFC Fight Night 26, disinterested in rematch

UFC Fight Night 26, which took place at TD Bank Garden in Boston, Mass., on Aug. 17, 2013, was a huge success for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and pulled fantastic ratings for its FOX Sports 1 network debut.

The same cannot be said in describing how the evening went for Cole Miller in his Featherweight fight against Manny Gamburyan.

Five minutes into his mixed martial arts (MMA) match against his former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 teammate, everything looked to be going his way. But, In the closing seconds of round one, Miller returned to his feet from a take down and unleashed (illegal?) elbows to Gamburyan's head.

The downed former Lightweight was dazed and confused, complaining that the blows were illegal (replays seemed to suggest otherwise). "Anvil" was allotted extra time between rounds to recover before continuing onto the second frame even though Miller was not disqualified or deducted a point for illegal strikes.

Gambuyan went on to steal a decision victory that many fight fans felt Miller deserved.

At (1-3) as a Featherweight and (8-7) in UFC competition overall, "Magrinho" isn't exactly blowing anyone away. And after this last scrap his future is even further convoluted, which is the reason he decided to go forward with an appeal of the results, hoping to wipe the loss from his record.

He recently spoke with BJPenn.com regarding the ordeal and what he hopes comes of this going forward:

"My team has already spoken with the Massachusetts Athletic Commission and we’ve already started the process to get this appeal for this decision. So as it sits right now the Massachusetts Athletic Commission will review the motion to protest September 12th. I think they’re going to decide whether or not they’re going to investigate it. They’ll probably read my formal complaint and letter, then based on what that says and what they know about the bout they'll decide if any rules were in fact not followed in the fight and they’ll determine if they’re going to investigate it."

So did Miller share the view that most people watching the bout unfold did and believe the fight should of been stopped at the end of the first round?

"It definitely should have been stopped. There was no maybe about it. The bottom line is he got a minute to recover in my corner, he wasn’t ready to answer the bell after a minute. I could tell he was hurt. I threw that elbow with as much force as I possibly could have. And when you’re talking about that region of the head, that is the area that really affects the equilibrium the most."

As any fighter looking to win a war should, Miller came out of the first round controversy ready to continue his assault and personally thought he won the fight regardless of what happened at the end of the opener.

"I felt like I should have the won the decision anyway. I would love to see the media get in touch with these people and ask them their explanation on judging a fight."

Miller now sits in a similar situation now with the Massachusetts Athletic Commission as he did at the end of the fight with Gamburyan and the judges ... helpless.

"I don’t want a rematch. I don’t care about fighting Manny again to get my hand raised. What I want is the just call. It’s not like this was some back and forth split decision that was open for interpretation. My face had no marks on it after the fight. I didn’t get hit but five times in three round, and I love how UFC put the numbers up afterward to make it look even. It’s just smoke and mirrors, man. When I’m watching this guys face change in front of me over the course of 15 minutes and mine doesn’t have a mark on it, I just don’t get it. I don’t want a rematch, what I want is that loss gone. I would really like to have my TKO win but that’s not going to happen. I took zero damage, I thought my striking was on point and my defense was phenomenal. I don’t want a rematch to do what I already did."

Coming off another loss, Miller is aware his UFC time may be running out. He doesn't want to be sent out to pasture on a setback like this, hoping the commission will do the right thing in the end. Gamburyan, meanwhile, is staying quiet throughout the ordeal. And who could blame him based on the circumstances.

Where do you stand with the Cole Miller vs. Manny Gamburyan decision and what should happen next?

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