Ion Cutelaba will have the chance to bounce back from a controversial loss to Magomed Ankalaev as the Ultimate Fighting Championship has made their rematch official.
The light heavyweight pair fought in the recently-concluded UFC Fight Night 169 in Norfolk, Virginia, with the referee stopping the fight after 38 seconds.
The outcome did not sit well with mixed martial arts fans as they called it the ‘worst stoppage’ in the history of UFC.
During an exchange in the first round, Cutelaba wobbled but was still standing on his feet when referee Kevin MacDonald waved off the fight, much to the dismay of the crowd.
The Moldovan fighter suffered his fourth loss in eight UFC bouts and is planning to file an appeal to the Virginia athletic commission, following the questionable stoppage.
Game Plan
Cutelaba was clearly disappointed with the referee’s decision, saying it was part of his game plan to play possum before countering his opponent’s attack.
He insisted he was fighting when MacDonald called the stoppage.
”When it’s two fighters on this level and they came here to fight and show the world a good fight, it doesn’t matter, one round, three rounds, 40 seconds – let them fight,” he told reporters in the UFC Norfolk post-fight media scrum.
“That referee, he doesn’t know how to do that. They have to (have) another referee to control this kind of fight.”
“I came all the way from Moldova, 14 or 15, to show the world I am the best, and the referee didn’t leave me to fight,” he added.
“Every (strike) that my opponent did, I controlled it. When the referee stopped the fight, I was countering. This was a part of the game plan, and the referee thought I fell. But that was part of the game plan.”
”When they stopped it, I was fighting him.”
Running It Back
The athletic commission of the state of Virginia said it will first review the tape to check if it is reasonable to file an appeal.
However, spokesperson Mary Broz-Vaughan revealed the state commission hasn’t changed fight results through an appeal for over two decades now.
If the controversial fight wasn’t overturned to a no-contest, Cutelaba will have the opportunity to redeem himself this April as the UFC books his rematch with Ankalaev for the New York fight card.
“Breaking: Per sources, UFC rebooking last week’s controversial bout between Ion Cutelaba and Magomed Ankalaev to UFC 249 in April in Brooklyn,” ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported.
UFC 249 takes place at the Barclays Center and will be headlined by a lightweight title fight featuring Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Ion Cutelaba and YouTube/ Cageside Press