Jessamyn Duke Camp to Protest Invicta FC 5 Knockout Loss

Jessamyn Duke took on Miriam Nakamoto in an undercard bout at Invicta FC 5 last Friday. The bout ended in a controversial finish after Duke was struck with two heavy knees from Nakamoto that knocked her unconscious and forced referee John McCarthy to step in and stop the fight. When the replay was shown, it was clear that Duke’s knees were down when Nakamoto landed the second strike that ended the fight.

Nakamoto was given the victory, but  Duke’s camp is set to protest the decision.

Here is a GIF of the knee in question:

Duke’s trainer and owner of the AFS Academy Scott Elliott took to the MMA Underground to explain that that Duke’s camp will be protesting the knockout loss.

Here is Elliot’s statement from the Underground:

"This happened this weekend on the Invicta card. Maybe I’m blind, but that knee looks illegal as s—. She was stunned off the first knee, Big John is keeping an eye on her, Nakamoto throws the second, illegal knee and THEN he steps in to stop the fight. After the fight, John tried to say that he called the fight after the first knee.What SHOULD have happened is the fighters broke up, a point taken away from Nakamoto, Duke be given her 5 minutes to recover and then the fight restarted. Instead, however, Nakamoto was given the win via TKO and awarded knockout of the night.Some are trying to argue that she was out after the first knee. First of all, that’s irrelevant. If she was out, the fight should have been stopped right then. Obviously, Big John did not move in to stop the fight after that first knee BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT OUT. It was only after the second knee that he actually moves in to stop the fight. Furthermore, it’s still irrelevant because at that moment, the fight was STILL ON and she throws the illegal knee to a grounded opponent!!Notice in the video how Nakamoto reacts knowing she made an error in throwing the knee.Obviously we are contesting this and appealing with the athletic commission."

Duke’s camp has a legitimate gripe. Her knees were clearly on the ground when Nakamoto delivered the second knee that ended the fight. By the rules, that is an illegal strike and Nakamoto should have been disqualified if Duke was unable to continue after five minutes.

Since Nakamoto was given the win, the athletic commission needs to review the incident and overturn the decision to a no contest.

What do you think of the decision to protest the decision? Should the bout be overturned to a no contest or should Nakamoto keep the win? Sound off in the comments section and share your thoughts.