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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The Tennessee Athletic Commission is launching an investigation into the event-ending brawl from Saturday's Strikeforce: Nashville event on CBS, according to a report from MMAJunkie.com.
The Commission is looking to find who was to blame for the incident, and their findings coudl result in disciplinary action for those involved.
The brawl broke out after Jason "Mayhem" Miller entered the cage after Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson in the night's main event. He got into camera view and cut in on Shields' post-fight interview with Gus Johnson. Shields and Gilbert Melendez pushed Miller away and then their fellow Cesar Gracie fighters, including Nick and Nate Diaz, stepped in and proceeded to assault Miller in the cage.
After the event, Shields and Melendez apologized for their actions, and Miller posted a formal apology Monday morning on his official web page.
The report further states that Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is planning an internal investigation of his own into the incident, as he was already out of the arena and getting prepared for the post fight press conference when the melee took place.
Penick's Analysis: There may possibly be some suspensions coming to a few fighters, most notably the Diaz brothers, as they posted self-congratulatory messages on their Facebook page after the brawl took place. Then again, the Tennessee Commission hasn't been in place very long, and there's no telling to what extent they view the power they have. Something should probably be done for a six-on-one beat down, and while it's been pointed out that these types of things happen in the other major sports as well, including on Saturday night in the NBA when Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics elbowed and opponent in the jaw, those things also lead to suspensions and disciplinary action, so people shouldn't be let off the hook for this.
RELATED STORY: STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Jason "Mayhem" Miller issues an apology for his part in Strikeforce on CBS brawl: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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