Why was Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon ruled a 'No Contest'? UFC Vegas 71 decision explained

Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon was one of the more exciting fights on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes. The lightweight bout did make waves in the news upon its completion but for having a bizarre ending instead of a thrilling showdown between two dynamic fighters.

Green vs. Gordon started off on a positive note with both fighters showing intent. However, Green got the better of the early exchanges by not only landing quick jabs but also using leg kicks to good effect. Gordon's body and head kicks were also successfully neutralized by his opponent.

After four minutes of a very solid round for himself despite suffering an inadvertent groin kick midway through, Bobby Green strode forward to land a jab but the close proximity of the strike resulted in an accidental clash of heads between the two lightweights.

Jared Gordon was thrown off with an accidental headbutt but the official failed to notice it at the onset and Green capitalized on the fallen Gordon. After some quick ground and pound, the referee intervened and stopped the fight.

Watch the accidental head clash between the two on Twitter:

The final twist came right before announcer Joe Martinez was about to call a win by TKO for Bobby Green. The commission halted the announcement, reviewed the end of the fight and decided to rule it a no contest on the grounds of an accidental headbutt.

An accidental illegal strike is one of seven reasons why a fight result can be ruled a no contest. Among other illegal strikes are kicking a downed opponent, a low blow, or an eye poke.

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Is Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon the first instance of a no contest due to an accidental headbutt?

Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon is not the first instance of a fight being ruled out on grounds of an accidental headbutt or clash of heads.

UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Santos in 2021 featured a middleweight bout between Kevin Holland and Kyle Daukaus for its co-main event. A similar first-round exchange between the two led to Holland crashing head first into Daukaus, going down cold and subsequently getting submitted by Daukaus.

However, further review from officials led to an overturn and the fight being ruled a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads.

Check it out on YouTube:

Most recently, the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix finale between Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson ended in a no contest for the same reason. Champion Nemkov was cut under the eye due to a clash of heads and therefore retained his title on the grounds of a no contest.