​An appeal filed to overturn the result of a bout on the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano undercard has been officially denied.The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) denied Phumi Nkuta’s request to overturn his May 16 submission loss to Adriano Moraes, alleging the fight’s finish was mishandled by referee Herb Dean.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNkuta (11-1) claimed that he was still conscious upon the final bell, but went out after time had expired because Moraes (22-6) held the choke past the horn. CSAC executive directo Andy Foster did not deny the choke was held long, but said there was no definitive evidence Nkuta was not unconscious at the bell.”We watched this replay,” Foster said. “I bet I’ve watched it 80 times now. We’ve watched it over and over. I’m still unsure when he went unconscious. When we’re not sure about something, it needs to be clear and convincing evidence if this commission is going to flip a fight, just to be very clear. I can’t tell you in any definitive way, at what point are we flipping the fight? What I can tell you is Mr. Nkuta would’ve won that fight, had he not been choked. I can tell you that. That was going to happen. The question for the commissioners is, and you can watch the tape and get your own opinion, is at what point was he unconscious?”Another point is, do you think Herb should’ve charged him with a foul for holding it. I’ve heard the word, ‘2.15 seconds long.’ I wasn’t sure if it was that long, but let’s assume that it was 2.15 seconds. I don’t know if it was that long, but let’s make it that because that’s what I was told. I’ve seen fights like this, and I know you all have as well, where it happens quite frequently. The question is up for the commissioners but my recommendation is we have to maintain what the referee called that night. We went to replay. We’ve watched it many times that night and we still couldn’t determine.”Nkuta traveled from Las Vegas to Sacramento to attend Monday’s hearing in person. He said he remembers hearing the horn and reiterated that two-plus seconds is significant when it comes to submissions.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”If you see on the film as well, my eyes are squinting, my eyes are moving when the bell sounds,” Nkuta said. “From my perspective, I hear the bell. Obviously, it’s for you guys and the commission to decide. I think the one clear thing here is that Moraes did hold that choke for the extended amount of time. For anyone who has grappled before at a high level, or at any juncture, knows when you’ve held a choke in for a requisite amount of time, every second counts. He got the choke in in nine seconds. We’re already nine seconds in and Herb gets his hands on him. While Herb is prying his hands, he’s still holding the choke. Now, if he’d let go immediately, we’d have a clearer distinction of, ‘OK, he was unconscious.'”Moraes, in my opinion, clearly committed a foul. Herb gets on him, tries to rip his hands off, and he continues to choke.