The much-anticipated rematch between Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena has been the subject of intense controversy, with accusations flying from all sides.
Nick Rodriguez Fills In, Greasing Accusations Fly
Gordon Ryan reportedly had to pull out of the rematch due to a bad bout of stomach flu, which drew mockery from both B team and Pena. Nick Rodriguez stepped up on short notice to face Pena, but not without controversy.
Rodriguez had previously been accused of greasing by Gordon Ryan after a close contest at UFC invitational 3. Pena repeatedly complained about greasing during the match, prompting the referee to pat down Rodriguez and wipe at him. Despite Pena’s complaints, following the expiration of regular time, Pena was declared the winner.
Pena’s Uncertainty and B Team’s Denial
Pena has maintained that he is not sure if Rodriguez was actually greasing. The lengthy match was relatively close, and there were no real submission attempts.
B team decided to address the rumors head-on, delivering a resounding denial of the greasing accusations in a video.
Gordon Ryan reacted to the denial calling on fans to not let B team get away from it because ‘they’re funny’ and even went so far to call Nick Rodriguez out of it in the video.
However, a video B team posted shows Rodriguez revealing that he was approached by someone from Flograppling after the event and told that the event featured three Brazilian judges, so there was no way he would’ve ever won that decision.
Biased Referees and Artificial Marketing Push
This revelation is interesting on multiple levels. For one, it appears that Flograppling, the streaming company that owns the event, was using biased referees knowingly. Additionally, it raises the question of whether the referee trio was booked to artificially generate a marketing push for the rivalry between Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena.
There’s also the issue of Ryan’s bout with Pena generating more interest, even if Pena is far from where he was when he defeated Ryan twice, several years ago.
