Many observers were left scratching their heads after the Adriano Moraes vs. Phumi Nkuta fight. Not only was the ending strange, but the official ruling was questionable.
Moraes (22-6) and Nkuta (11-1) threw down in a 130-pound catchweight bout on the preliminary card of MVP MMA 1 this past Saturday live on Netflix from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. The fight was competitive, but Nkuta was on his way to beating the former ONE champion as he had won the first two rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards. No matter if Moraes won Round 3, Nkuta was en route to a victory.
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However, things took an unexpected turn in the final seconds. Nkuta fell to the ground after engaging Moraes in a wild sequence, got his back taken, and was put in a rear-naked choke with about nine seconds left on the clock. Moraes squeezed hard and held on to the choke for almost two seconds after the initial sound of the bell. He then pushed over Nkuta, who was unconscious.
Referee Herb Dean, along with cageside officials, took time to review the replay and ended up ruling the fight a technical submission for Moraes rather than a decision win for Nkuta. Dean is convinced the right verdict was reached.
“First of all, I’m certain that the right decision was made,” Dean explained Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “What I saw was towards the end, he got caught in a rear-naked choke. He was on with a palm-to-palm grip, and I believe it was after the clapper, the 10-second clapper, it was right at the end, man, he was giving it everything he’s got because it was his opportunity. When I stopped the match, there was a fraction of a second where he held onto the choke. Because of that, I wasn’t exactly sure. I wanted to make sure I saw what happened and when things happened, so I went and looked at the replay.”
From the initial noise of the bell, it looked like Moraes held the choke for almost two seconds, not “a fraction of a second” as Dean suggested. Dean said he initially saw the fight as a submission win for the American Top Team product. He only went to the replay to confirm his initial assessment.
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“Now, as we’re getting close to the end, I’m thinking about the bell is going to sound, and I’m going to have to fight hands,” Dean said. “Usually in a situation like that, where I’m thinking somebody may go out due to a rear-naked choke, I have a bit of a wider focus. I want to see the body because the hands and often the legs are often what’s going to give you your clue that someone is out, whereas looking at their face won’t. But then, as it’s time for me to stop the fight, I’m of course looking at his hands because I’m trying to figure out which grips he has and what I’m going to have to fight if he’s not letting go instantly. That’s why my focus shifted towards the hands. I saw what his body did, but I wasn’t focused there. Since I had time, I wanted to make sure I had everything right and wanted to know when things happened, especially in relationship to the bell, I went out and looked at the replay. I’m definitely sure he went unconscious before the bell, right at a fraction of a second before the bell.”
This finishing sequence caused quite the controversy online. Some thought Nkuta was wronged and should’ve received a decision win. Dean believes the replay review made the situation more uncertain than it actually was.
“Looking at it kind of made it seem odd, but I wanted to take my time since the fight was already over and make sure I got all the information, so I can make the right decision,” Dean said.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Referee explains controversial Rousey vs. Carano prelim ruling
