Aljamain
Sterling and Merab
Dvalishvili believe their training partner, Phumi
Nkuta, was robbed on the MVP MMA card.
Nkuta (11-1) took on Adriano
Moraes (22-6) in a bantamweight outing at
Most Valuable Promotions „Rousey vs. Carano“ on Saturday at the
Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. While Nkuta picked apart
Moraes on the feet, the former ONE
Championship champion had the edge on the ground. The highly
competitive fight met with a controversial ending in the final
round.
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Moraes secured a rear-naked choke in the final second of the fight.
While Nkuta seemed to be in his senses till the final bell, Moraes
held on to the choke even for a few seconds, even after the bell,
despite referee Herb Dean
intervening. Nkuta was choked out unconscious, and it was declared
a submission win for Moraes.
The fight gave Dvalishvili immediate flashbacks of his controversial loss against Ricky Simon
in 2018. While “The Machine” was dominating the fight, Simon
secured a guillotine in the final minute of the fight. Dvalishvili
refused to tap for a whole minute and rode out the round. However,
Dvalishvili seemed partially unconscious and it was declared a
submission loss for the Georgian.
“Bad flashback of my fight with Ricky
Simon,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. [Phumi
Nkuta] was NOT out before the bell. His opponent held him 2
seconds after the bell and that’s when he was slept. Ref should
have broken it up at bell and the fight would have gone to
decision. Again — case of bad reffing… costs Phumi a loss.”
Bad flashback of my fight with Ricky
Simon. @PhumiNkuta_MMA
was NOT out before the bell. His opponent held him 2 seconds after
the bell and that’s when he was slept. Ref should have broken it up
at bell and the fight would have gone to decision. Again- case of
bad reffing… costs…— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil)
May 17, 2026
Foul Play
Sterling also felt that Nkuta was robbed. Sterling blames the
referee for bad officiating while calling out Moraes for foul
play.
“The ref f—ed him,” Sterling wrote. “Anyone that knows how chokes
work, can see him holding the choke for a clear 2 seconds past the
bell, and not listening to the ref, which is how he was able to put
Phumi to sleep. Foul play on Moraes, from the ref, and all involved
now understanding what they’re looking at. Had he let go, this
wouldn’t even be a discussion. Awful!!”
The ref fucked him. Anyone that knows how
chokes work, can see him holding the choke for a clear 2 seconds
past the bell, and not listening to the ref, which is how he was
able to put Phumi to sleep. Foul play on Moraes, from the ref, and
all involved now understanding what… https://t.co/qIDKyAhvdg— Aljamain
Sterling (@funkmasterMMA)
May 17, 2026