Ion Cutelaba feels that the stoppage against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Norfolk was an injustice and is planning to appeal it.
Magomed Ankalaev appeared to have hurt Ion Cutelaba within less than a minute into the 1st-round. While Cutelaba appeared to have been wobbled, he was still standing and defending himself, even throwing shots back at his foe. Despite this, the referee jumped in to stop the fight — receiving immediate protest from Cutelaba. The MMA community were not pleased by this stoppage, with veteran referee “Big” John McCarthy going as far as calling the decision “horrendous”.
Ion Cutelaba has addressed the situation himself, with a post on his Instagram calling it “one of the worst calls in UFC history.” He has stated that he will be appealing the decision with the Virginia athletic commission.
“Tonight I was denied a chance to Show my work to the fans. Referring is a very hard job and tonight a mistake took away months of hard work and possible income from my family. I know that the commission will be able to understand that this was a incorrect call and will reverse the decision. Nobody wins in a situation like this, the fans lost on watching What Could be the fight of the Night, my opponent had a contestable win that will be overturned and I had one of the worst calls in @ufc history happen Against me. I appreciate all the support from the fans in Norfolk, back home and all over the world. I will be back and I believe that We will together be able to correct this injustice.”
Cutelaba went into this fight with momentum behind him, having recently disposed of Khalil Rountree with a 1st-round win, so his frustration is understandable.
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 3rd March, 2020.
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