Edson Barboza denied ability to appeal controversial loss to Dan Ige

Edson Barboza has been denied the chance to appeal his controversial defeat at the hands of Dan Ige this past weekend.

Barboza made his featherweight debut in Jacksonville and while many fans and pundits thought he’d struggle with the weight cut, he looked to be in the shape of his life — leading many to believe he’d put in an impressive display against Ige.

While he did seem to win the bout in the eyes of many, the split decision was given to Ige, dropping Barboza to three straight losses for the first time in his MMA career.

Barboza’s manager Alex Davis spoke to MMA Junkie about why they are unable to appeal the decision.

“We wanted to come in front of them and analyze the fight and show them the decision was wrong,” the Barboza manager said (via MMA Junkie). “They can’t allow it because for that to happen, I would have to accuse the judges of fraud, or Ige of having taken (performance-enhancing drugs). I have no suspicion of fraud, and I don’t think he takes PEDs. I think he’s a great fighter, and he fought really well. I can’t appeal because of that.

“The whole world saw Edson winning that fight. Nothing against Ige, he fought a great fight, and he’s a tough guy and all props to him. But the problem is, from our perspective, the scoring was wrong. We should be able to take a fight before the commission and appeal, and if they think the scoring is wrong they should be able to overturn. That doesn’t happen here. The law doesn’t permit it to.”

Dan Ige’s win over Edson Barboza was one of many decisions in the UFC’s three return shows in Florida that were considered to be controversial, raising questions regarding the decline in the quality of MMA judging. How did you score the fight?