Outside Source
Nkuta (11-1) took on Adriano Moraes (22-6) in a bantamweight outing at Most Valuable Promotions “Rousey vs. Carano” on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. While Nkuta picked apart Moraes on the feet, the former ONE Championship champion had the edge on the ground. The highly competitive fight met with a controversial ending in the final round.
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Moraes secured a rear-naked choke in the final second of the fight. While Nkuta seemed to be in his senses till the final bell, Moraes held on to the choke even for a few seconds, even after the bell, despite referee Herb Dean intervening. Nkuta was choked out unconscious, and it was declared a submission win for Moraes.
The fight gave Dvalishvili immediate flashbacks of his controversial loss against Ricky Simon in 2018. While “The Machine” was dominating the fight, Simon secured a guillotine in the final minute of the fight. Dvalishvili refused to tap for a whole minute and rode out the round. However, Dvalishvili seemed partially unconscious and it was declared a submission loss for the Georgian.
“Bad flashback of my fight with Ricky Simon,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. [Phumi Nkuta] was NOT out before the bell. His opponent held him 2 seconds after the bell and that’s when he was slept. Ref should have broken it up at bell and the fight would have gone to decision. Again — case of bad reffing… costs Phumi a loss.”
Bad flashback of my fight with Ricky Simon. @PhumiNkuta_MMA was NOT out before the bell. His opponent held him 2 seconds after the bell and that’s when he was slept. Ref should have broken it up at bell and the fight would have gone to decision. Again- case of bad reffing… costs…
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) May 17, 2026
Foul Play
Sterling also felt that Nkuta was robbed. Sterling blames the referee for bad officiating while calling out Moraes for foul play.
“The ref f—ed him,” Sterling wrote. “Anyone that knows how chokes work, can see him holding the choke for a clear 2 seconds past the bell, and not listening to the ref, which is how he was able to put Phumi to sleep. Foul play on Moraes, from the ref, and all involved now understanding what they’re looking at. Had he let go, this wouldn’t even be a discussion. Awful!!”
The ref fucked him. Anyone that knows how chokes work, can see him holding the choke for a clear 2 seconds past the bell, and not listening to the ref, which is how he was able to put Phumi to sleep. Foul play on Moraes, from the ref, and all involved now understanding what… https://t.co/qIDKyAhvdg
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 17, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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