An investigation was launched after Toa was beaten by Warby in the second round of their scheduled three-round contest when the referee decided Toa could no longer defend himself.
Toa and his Team Hammerhead corner immediately appealed the decision because they were adamant Toa had received illegal knees to the head shortly before the stoppage.
The rules of mixed martial arts state it is illegal to knee or kick an opponent in the head when the fighter has three points of body contact with the canvas. Those body contacts can be feet, knees, shoulders, elbows or hands.
ICNZ promoter Neil Swailes said, after going over the video footage of the fight, he decided to strip Warby of his title and declare a no-contest.
"I watched the tape and upheld the protest because Matt basically got a knee while he was down and got another knee after being taken to the ground, which becomes illegal.
"Unfortunately, the ref was looking at it from the point of view of Matt's safety and he missed the knee touching the ground."
He said Warby (24) had no complaints and was looking forward to a rematch. It has been scheduled for September 22 in Auckland.
Toa (31) said he was relieved he had been justified in his decision to appeal and was also happy a no-contest had been declared because he did not want to win the title on a disqualification.
He said ICNZ did a professional job and had "great systems" in place for appeals, and it was a great outcome for all involved.
"I have no ill-feeling towards Steven. I have done it myself in previous fights and you only have a split second to make that choice, and sometimes it isn't the right one."
Toa's record now stands at 13 wins, 12 defeats and two no-contests.
He said the rematch meant he would not be fighting in August when Hammerhead Promotions hold a fight night in Dunedin, but there were plenty of fighters ready to step up and take their opportunity.
Dunedin's Peter Clinch could also be fighting on ICNZ's fight card in September.
Swailes said Clinch and the man he lost to earlier this year, Daniel Digby, were the top two middleweight contenders in the country and one of them would get a shot at the undefeated Forrest Goodwin for the ICNZ middleweight title.
ICNZ is New Zealand's longest-running mixed martial arts fight promotion. It began in 2007 and has held 17 fight nights and a handful of smaller fight cards.
