Dean Amasinger today said he expressed concerns about the New Mexico Athletic Commission prior to a controversial split decision in a UFC Fight Night 42 co-headliner between his teammate Ross Pearson and Diego Sanchez.

Amasinger, who immediately after the bout filed an appeal of its result, claimed that drug tests were not performed on fighters from New Mexico or the famed Greg Jackson-Mike Winkeljohn camp in Albuquerque, N.M., where the card took place, and informed the UFC.

“Ross was drug tested before the fight, which is perfectly normal,” he told MMAjunkie. “That’s absolutely fine, and all this stuff is supposed to be random. But when Ross came back from the drug test, he said to me, ‘I’ve seen the list; none of the Jackson guys are on the drug test list, or the New Mexican guys who are fighting on the card.’ And so I went and checked and that was the case.

“I made a note to (UFC site coordinator) Burt Watson and I said, ‘I want to let you know that I’m feeling uncomfortable about that.'”

MMAjunkie wasn’t immediately able to verify the participants drug tested at UFC Fight Night 42, which took place at Tingely Coliseum in Albuquerque. A call to the commission wasn’t immediately returned; an open records request is pending.

Amasinger questioned why New Mexico was ordering tests on individuals as opposed to pairs in scheduled bouts. However, it’s not uncommon to see fighters tested at random on a certain card, though testing protocols vary from state to state. Participants in title bouts are almost universally tested.

Amasinger noted that part of his appeal request with the commission is to check whether there are any conflicts of interest or potential corruption that could have led to the decision, in which Sanchez won the fight on two of three scorecards.

“With [Sanchez] being from New Mexico and specifically Albuquerque, there’s obvious connections there and obvious potential conflicts of interest,” Amasinger said. “They don’t have a lot of experience with bigger shows, and I think that’s another factor that’s played into this happening.”

The Pearson rep added he wants to see the official scorecards from the fight, which aired live on FOX Sports 1. One judge gave inaugural “Ultimate Fighter” winner Sanchez all three rounds, while another gave him two of three rounds. A third judge, meanwhile, awarded Pearson all three rounds, which reflected nearly all of the tallies given by the MMA media.

“The ideal scenario would be the decision overturned, and I still have my fingers crossed that it was potentially a mistake, particularly the 30-27 [score],” Amasinger said. “I just can’t see how that was scored. The ideal situation is an overturned decision. The next down from that is a no-contest, I suppose, and we get a rematch.”

As of yet, the Pearson camp has yet to hear from the UFC regarding the decision, according to Amasinger. UFC President Dana White was in Maine for a family function and did not attend the fight, and the team was not immediately able to contact matchmaker Joe Silva, though Amasinger said he’s reached out to the executive via email while Pearson’s management has tried White.

In several cases where the promotion disagreed with an official call, fighters have been awarded the “win” portion of their fight purse. That is not yet the case with Pearson, said Amasinger.

“We hope that’s going to be the case, because half of your wage is a pretty serious difference when there’s a mistake involved,” he said. “With the reaction everyone’s had, I think it’s possibly one of the worst decisions in UFC history.”

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