Ante Delija still wants to know what happened in his fight with Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC Vegas 110.
The official ending of Saturday’s heavyweight co-main event will go down as a knockout win for Cortes-Acosta, but that result only came after a confusing foul controversy that took place after it looked like Delija had ended the fight with a flurry of strikes. Three minutes into the opening round, Delija was battering Cortes-Acosta with strikes and referee Mark Smith stepped in to stop the fight. However, Cortes-Acosta complained of an eye poke and after a video review that clearly showed he was fouled, Smith gave him the option to continue and moments later the fight resumed.
On Sunday, Delija posted a five-point statement to Instagram Stories, expressing his fury at Smith and the commission’s decision:
Delija added the following:
I ask for nothing more, just honesty.
I don’t run from defeat,
I respect every opponent and every outcome.
But not when rules are broken and I’m robbed.
Not in this way.
The sport hasn’t seen this yet!!!
MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz reached out to Delija’s management to confirm the translation of Delija’s post, which was originally written in Croatian.
Making the sequence that much more controversial is the fact that it came seven days after Delija’s teammate Tom Aspinall was also involved in eye poke drama. Aspinall defended his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321, but the bout ended in a no-contest when Gane poked both of Aspinall’s eyes and the champion was unable to continue.
Amid criticism of Aspinall’s inability to proceed with the contest, Delija defended his friend, saying (via a Croatian translator), “I really don’t understand. I had 33 fights and I never poked somebody in the eye, and I do believe the punishment for that should be severe.”
The result was particularly heartbreaking for Delija, who made a successful UFC debut this past September in his 32nd pro bout, knocking out longtime contender Marcin Tybura inside of a round. Delija, a one-time PFL tournament champion, looked to be on his way to a 2-0 record inside the octagon before his foul led to a chaotic disappointment.
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