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Phumi Nkuta Adriano Moraes MVP MMA

Flyweight prospect Phumi Nkuta reacted after a crazy submission loss to Adriano Moraes on the undercard of MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano.

In one of the craziest submissions you will ever see in the sport of mixed martial arts, Moraes tapped out Nkuta at 4:59 of the third round to complete an absolutely astonishing comeback from being on the brink of defeat. The fight aired on the free preliminary card stream, which we carried live at Heavy.

Nkuta won the first two rounds and was winning the third until, with 10 seconds left, Moraes connected on a flying knee that dropped Nkuta to the mat. Almost immediately, Moraes began working on a rear-naked choke, and right as the final buzzer rang, Nkuta went to sleep.

The finish was controversial, however, as it appeared that Moraes held onto the choke after the bell. But referee Herb Dean asked for replay review, and after the California State Athletic Commission looked at the fight-ending sequence more closely, it was confirmed that Moraes was the winner by technical submission with just one second to spare, completing one of the most insane and improbable comebacks we have ever seen in MMA.

Phumi Nkuta Reacts to Controversial Loss

Taking to his social media following the controversial loss, Nkuta shared his reaction to the crazy submission defeat.

“Still look good. Still the people’s champ, obviously. The world knows I probably got screwed on that one. But hey, end of the day, I’m still undefeated in my book. I didn’t know that in the Unified Rules of MMA, we can hold chokes after the bell, but if that’s the case, I guess we gotta do it again, Moraes. Let’s do it one more time. MVP, we coming back to Netflix. We’re running it back,” Nkuta said in an Instagram post.

Phumi Nkuta’s Team Files Appeal

Lance Spaude of Iridium Sports Agency took to social media following the controversial loss for his client and said that he has already appealed the result of the bout with the CSAC.

“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. Per CSAC regulation, the contest should’ve been decided by the judges’ scorecards,” Spaude wrote on X.

“We contest the commission’s determination that Phumi was unconscious at the end out 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,” he continued.

“Had the bout went to the scorecards, Phumi would have won the bout by decision. We appreciate CSAC’s consideration of our appeal and look forward to a quick and fair resolution.”

According to Spaude in a follow-up reply, Nkuta was up 20-18 on two scorecards heading into the final round, so even if Moraes won the third round on the judges’ scorecards, Nkuta would have won a split decision.

We’ll see if this appeal ends up working out, but generally, these sorts of appeals don’t work in MMA. Still, it’s worth a shot, but in the end, a rematch seems like the fairest outcome for everyone involved.