Jason High suspended one year after ref-shoving incident
A momentary lapse in reason by Jason High following his loss to Rafael Dos Anjos earlier this month not only cost him his job in the UFC, but now it's landed him a one-year suspension from the New Mexico Athletic Commission.
The governing body in New Mexico handed down the 12-month suspension to High this week, which runs until June 7, 2015, after he shoved a referee following the conclusion of his fight in Albuquerque two weeks ago. MMAFighting.com first reported the suspension on Wednesday evening.
High also will be fined 10 percent of his purse for the altercation.
Sources indicated when speaking to FOX Sports on Wednesday that High's suspension could be reduced with "good behavior," and it's likely the former UFC lightweight will file an appeal.
While referees rarely have been touched during UFC competitions, the most comparable situation happened in 2003 when Phil Baroni actually struck referee Larry Landless for stopping his bout with Evan Tanner at UFC 45 in Connecticut. Baroni was suspended for four months and actually rematched Tanner seven months later.
Baroni lost that match as well.
High was released by the UFC following his incident and UFC president Dana White, while never actually seeing the shove, said the offense is enough for High to receive a lifetime ban from the promotion.
As for High, he now will have to wait on a possible appeal hearing with the commission to see if the sentence could be reduced or changed based on his defense. Regardless, as of now, High is off the market due to his suspension until he can have his day in front of the New Mexico Athletic Commission.
