Adriano Moraes needed until the final bell along some replay assistance to score a technical submission win over Phumi Nkuta in one of the more insane ending in recent history.
Potentially down on the scorecards as time was running short in the third round, Moraes threw a flying knee that missed but Nkuta fell down off balance and that gave the former ONE flyweight champion a chance to immediately jump on his back and lock on a rear naked choke. The submission was tight but time was running short as Nkuta did
his best to resist the choke.
As soon as the bell rang, referee Herb Dean had to drag Moraes off of Nkuta, who rolled over and laid motionless on the canvas, clearly unconscious from the submission. Replays showed that Moraes held onto the choke for a couple of extra seconds past the final bell but it was tough to tell when Nkuta actually went to sleep.
The California State Athletic Commission along with ringside official Mike Beltran reviewed the footage with replays and determined that Nkuta went unconscious before the final bell. That made the official result a technical submission win for Moraes with the end coming at 4:59 in the third round.
“The fight was really tough,” Moraes said after the win. “This fight was tough as hell. Phumi is no joke. He was there all the time. In the last seconds, I was really fortunate to get the finish.”
Nkuta, who accepted the fight on short notice after Muhammad Mokaev couldn’t get a visa secured in time for the event on Saturday, suffered his first professional loss as a result of the technical submission. He was understandably upset by the result but offered to run it back with Moraes again in hopes that MVP continues promoting MMA in the future.
“They used to say I was boring. At the end of the day, I showed up, I showed out,” Nkuta shouted. “I’m saying that went to the scorecards, I was up. I’m a showman, let’s do it again.”
While Moraes felt confident in his victory, he didn’t seem opposed to a rematch but it remains to be seen if that actually happens in the future.
“He’s still dreaming because he slept really good,” Moraes said in response. “But we can do it again for sure.”
