Phumi Nkuta’s first loss still stands.
On Monday, Nkuta appeared before the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) for his appeal over a loss to Adriano Moraes back at the MVP MMA card in May. The fight ended with Moraes securing a rear naked choke that eventually put Nkuta to sleep but replays showed that the Brazilian held onto the submission past the final bell.
Nkuta’s argument was that he didn’t go unconscious until past the final bell and therefore the submission should not count. Based on the scorecards, Nkuta was in line for a victory if the fight actually went to a decision.
On the night of the fight, referee Herb Dean called Moraes the winner and additional officials reviewed the finish on replay but ultimately the former ONE champion still got the win.
“He does a good job taking the back, trapping the arm, great job to him,” Nkuta told MMA Fighting after the event. “Obviously, the choke happened. I heard the 10-second clapper, I’m fighting it with everything I’ve got. I hear the bell and then I wake up. As soon as I wake up, I’m like there’s no way I got knocked out. In my mind, I’m like I just heard the bell, what happened?
“You look at the instant replay, and he kind of pulled a Rousimar Palhares on me. It is what it is.”
During testimony on Tuesday, CSAC executive director Andy Foster argued that there just wasn’t enough definitive proof to overturn the decision, especially after multiple officials reviewed the tape through instant replay and came to the same conclusion.
”I bet I’ve watched it 80 times now,” Foster said during the hearing. “We’ve watched it over and over. I’m still unsure when he went unconscious. When we’re not sure about something, it needs to be clear and convincing evidence if this commission is going to flip a fight, just to be very clear.”
In the end, the commission voted to deny the appeal and Nkuta’s first professional loss still stands.
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