We've Got Major Controversy At UFC Denver Over Whether Or Not A Fighter Went Unconscious In A Choke
After two incredibly quick, exciting finishes to kick off UFC Denver, celebrating 25 Years of the UFC…
…we were due for a headache of a finish, I suppose, and we were given it.
During the second round of the featherweight contest between Chas Skelly and Bobby Moffett, the fight was brought to the ground, and Moffett caught Skelly in a D’arce choke. In the midst of this choke being applied and Skelly kicking around in a counter-clockwise motion making sure his legs weren’t tied up by Moffett, the referee, Tim Mills, grabbed Skelly’s arm, making sure he was still conscious, and made the split-second decision that he was NOT, in fact conscious. Instantly, Skelly protested, and I do mean instantly.
Colorado is one of the few states that HAVE adopted the new Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, though, so an instant replay was available (only for the results of a fight, and the fight cannot be restarted), and while Tim Mills was overlooking the footage, reanalyzing his decision to stop the contest – something that probably shouldn’t have been happening, by the way, I don’t know why another referee couldn’t have made that call afterwards – here’s what some of the MMA media was thinking…
Eventually, the call that was made the official, definitive finish to the fight was a, uhhh…I mean, the call was a TKO. I don’t really get it, I thought it should’ve been overturned, called a no contest, and rebooked as a fight on another card, but that’s just not necessarily how these things go.
Both competitors handled the situation with as much respect and class as they possibly could’ve (and Moffett pretty much admitted that Skelly never went out), so I honestly don’t think a rematch is out of the picture here, but that loss will forever live on Skelly’s record. Tough! Here’s the two speaking about it…
What do you guys think? Out? Not out? Should the fight have been overturned? Do you think a different referee should’ve overseen the replay? Let me know!