A huge upset was pulled a few weeks ago at Invicta Fighting Championships 20 when Yana Kunitskaya defeated bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger by submission via arm bar to capture the championship.
However, the victory came without some controversy as Evinger tapped a few moments after referee Mike England forced her to change positions while defending the submission. England claimed she was illegally placing a foot on the head on Kunitskaya, but the position was perfectly legal because Evinger wasn't using her foot in a striking maneuver, she was using it to defend a submission.
Evinger (in a statement to MMA Fighting) has stated that she has filed an official appeal to the Missouri Office Of Athletics (MOA), but the office isn’t expected to render a decision of any kind for the new few weeks.
A few weeks back, longtime MMA referee was asked about the situation via his Twitter, this was his response:
Yes it is legal as long as there is no strike involved while placing the foot on the head #AskBJM https://t.co/lm1n9JSwGy
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) November 19, 2016
The loss to Kunitskaya was the first that Evinger has suffered in well over five years, she successfully defended the bantamweight title three times before losing it.
