Phumi Nkuta may have officially lost his undefeated record at Jake Paul’s MVP’s first MMA card, but the recently released scorecards have only worsened the controversy surrounding the finish involving Adriano Moraes and referee Herb Dean.
Following the bizarre technical submission ending at MVP MMA 1, Ariel Helwani shared the official judges’ scores on social media, which showed that Nkuta was actually ahead before the final sequence unfolded.
According to the California State Athletic Commission master score sheet, judges Derek Cleary and Gokor Chivichyan both had ‘Turbo’ up 20-18 after two rounds, while Daniel Mobley scored the bout 19-19. That means the short-notice replacement was leading the fight on two of the three scorecards heading into the final seconds.
Got the scorecard for Nkuta-Moraes. Nkuta was up 20-18 on two scorecards, and the other had it 19-19.
However, the bout never officially reached the judges because Adriano Moraes locked in a rear-naked choke with less than 10 seconds left in Round 3. The real issue is what occurred after the bell. Replay footage appeared to show ‘Mikinho’ continuing to squeeze even after the horn sounded, as Herb Dean struggled to separate the fighters.
Moments later, Phumi Nkuta went limp. After a lengthy replay review, the CSAC ruled that ‘Turbo’ had passed out before the bout was officially over, awarding Moraes a technical submission victory at 4:59 of Round 3 that quickly went viral on social media.
Now, the 30-year-old’s team is fighting back against the verdict given at Jake Paul and Netflix’s MMA event.
The Iridium Sports Agency has already filed a formal appeal with the commission.
“Iridium Sports Agency has filed a formal appeal with the California State Athletic Commission on behalf of Phumi Nkuta regarding the outcome of his bout tonight with Moraes in Inglewood, CA,” agent Lance Spaude wrote on social media. “Per CSAC regulation, the contest should’ve been decided by the judges’ scorecards.
“We contest the commission’s determination that Phumi was unconscious at the end of the bout because the choke was held for a considerable time after the conclusion of the round and after the referee, Herb Dean, attempted to stop the bout. Had the bout went to the scorecards, Phumi would have won the bout by decision.”
And, given that the revealed scorecards suggest Phumi Nkuta was on track for his biggest win yet, the backlash has only intensified and spilled over on social media.
Social media explodes as Phumi Nkuta gets done ‘dirty’ at Jake Paul’s MVP MMA
As soon as the scorecards were made public, social media erupted in support of Phumi Nkuta. Many fans believed the young talent had been robbed of his career’s best win after pushing Adriano Moraes to the edge for about 15 minutes.
With two judges scoring the fight 20-18 in Nkuta’s favor before the final sequence, many fans felt even more convinced that the fight should have been decided on the scorecards rather than ending in technical submission.
Some reactions online were brutal toward Moraes and the officiating. Fans accused the former ONE champion of holding the choke for too long after the bell, while Herb Dean received criticism for failing to separate the fighters in time.
One fan tweeted, “Watched it again, Moraes clearly had to hold it past the bell to choke him out cold,” while another added, “Nahhhhhhh, they done him so dirty; Moraes is dirty. F— Dean.”
Seeing the scorecards, others were surprised to see that Phumi Nkuta indeed had done enough to win before the chaos unfolded in the closing seconds. A fan wrote, “Damn, Nkuta would have won if the fight wasn’t stopped,” while another tweeted, “Wow! So worst-case scenario, Nkuta wins by split decision. Can’t wait to see how the appeal goes.”
However, not everyone agreed with the outrage. Some fans claimed that Adriano Moraes deserved credit for almost ending the bout and that the third round could have swung heavily in his favor regardless.
One fan wrote, “I thought Moraes won the third round with his performance in the last 90 seconds of the round.” Another fan shared the same feeling, “Letting it go to the cards and giving Moraes a 10-8 in the third would’ve been the correct decision.”
Another viewer believed that the judges favored Moraes throughout the bout and that the late choke saved him from a controversial verdict. “Good thing Moraes didn’t let those judges steal it from him then!”
Regardless of which side people took, one thing became clear very quickly: Netflix and MVP’s debut MMA event unintentionally produced one of the most controversial yet talked-about finishes of the year. The only thing left to see is whether the verdict actually holds after the appeal.
