NSAC praises referee 'Big' John McCarthy, expects Tim Kennedy to lose appeal in Yoel Romero loss

Nothing like a little optimism.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight Tim Kennedy, who suffered a technical knockout loss to Yoel Romero at the UFC 178: "Johnson vs. Cariaso" pay-per-view (PPV) event last Sat. night (Sept. 27, 2014) in Las Vegas (full results here), is unlikely to have the decision overturned to a "no contest."

Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Bob Bennett talks to MMA Fighting:

"The likelihood of an appeal being overturned is very slim. I'm not going to say it's not going to happen, but like I initially said, it would be deferred to our legal department."

Bennett added that he believed the end result of the fight would have likely remained the same had Romero answered the bell immediately. He also praised referee John McCarthy for "expediting a situation that unfortunately developed" and getting the fight "to continue as quickly as possible."

That's one way of looking at it.

Kennedy had Romero on rubber legs at the end of the second stanza and "Soldier of God" was likely saved by the bell (highlights here). After getting greased up by the UFC cutman, Romero remained on his stool for over 30 seconds, giving himself some extra time to recover as his cornermen waddled out.

Kennedy gave him an earful after the fight (video here), but it looks like he won't get the opportunity to set things right.

U mad?