It was like adding insult to injury for UFC strawweight title contender Cortney Casey after being accused of faking an injury despite take the loss to No. 1 contender Claudia Gadelha in the UFC Fight Night 100 in Brazil.
Casey seemed to absorb an illegal kick to the head while she was on the ground against Gadelha in the third round of their bout but UFC and fight fans berated her on social media for overacting after receiving the blow to gain advantage when Gadelha was on her way for the win, MMA Fighting reported. Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission's COO Cristiano Sampaio was one to criticize Casey, saying that she forged the injury and she was "wrong and unsportsmanlike."
The American fighter did not take the comments likely when in the end, she lost the fight 27-30 on all three scorecards. She defended herself by saying that she did not need to fake the hit as she "was never in a fight to begin with," adding that Gadelha merely laid on her and did nothing.
After the kick, cageside physicians checked on Casey and she agreed to continue the fight. Casey said that if it were a plan to gain advantage or to "get an out," should could have told the physicians that she would not be able to continue.
In a report by MMA Junkie, Casey admitted that Gadelha defeated her fairly and vowed to come back stronger. However, she remained persistent that Gadelha's kick hit her "right on my hairline."
Casey also defended herself after sharing that Gadelha apologized for the kick when they talked after the bout. Casey added that the Brazilian's apology proves that the kick really hit her in the head. But during the post-fight press conference, Gadelha said that the kick did not hit her opponent.
"For people to question my character after all that, and then after them knowing that no one else wanted to take this fight against Gadelha, for them to tell me I was trying to get an out? It sucks," Casey said.
Casey has won two of her five UFC bouts while Gadelha has a 3-2 record inside the Octagon.