​Denied!Nearly two months ago (Sat., May 16, 2026), top Flyweight prospect Phumi Nkuta suffered the first loss of his professional career at MVP MMA 1 after former ONE Championship titleholder Adriano Moraes put him to sleep in the final seconds of their preliminary-card clash inside Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California (watch highlights).AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt was extremely controversial.Moraes locked in a rear-naked choke late in the third round, but the finish came right as the final horn sounded. To make matters even messier, the choke appeared to be held after the bell, leading veteran referee Herb Dean to request an instant replay review because of the controversial timing.After reviewing the sequence that night, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) ultimately ruled that Moraes secured the technical submission with one second remaining in the fight.A day after the event, Nkuta’s team filed an appeal with CSAC.Today (Mon., July 13, 2026), the decision came through.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Turbo” got denied.“We watched this replay,” CSAC executive director Andy Foster said, h/t MMA Junkie. “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?”Foster also addressed whether Moraes should have been penalized for holding onto the choke after the horn.“Another point is, do you think Herb should’ve charged him with a foul for holding it?” Foster said. “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,” Foster continued. “We went to replay. We watched it many times that night and we still couldn’t determine.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNkuta, who was in Sacramento to attend Monday’s hearing in person, said he heard the bell and believes Moraes committed a foul by refusing to release the choke when Dean tried to intervene.“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 t