UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili is likely to appeal his TKO loss to Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 128.

Dvalishvili’s manager, Matt Culley of Battlescar Management, today told MMAjunkie that while a final decision has yet to be reached, his team has reached out to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board about an appeal.

Culley said Dvalishvili (7-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) wants his loss overturned and the UFC to schedule a rematch with Simon (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who put him in a guillotine choke that prompted the referee to wave off the FS1-televised bout after the final bell.

“From talking to Merab, I think he would love a rematch to have a final outcome for that match,” Culley said. “He put in a lot of hard work into camp and the actual fight.

“It was a very exciting fight. Obviously they won the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus. So if we can get it overturned to a no-decision, and it makes sense to the UFC and his opponent to run that back, I think it might make sense for the fans to see that, too.”

Dvalishvili wasn’t immediately available for comment.

NJSACB counsel Nick Lembo declined reveal to Culley’s comments to MMAjunkie because no appeal had been received by the commission. Lembo did, however, clarify a rule that a fighter cannot be saved by the final bell if he or she goes unconscious.

Culley claims Dvalishvili didn’t go out during the bout despite claims to the contrary from veteran referees Marc Goddard and John McCarthy, who were the first to comment about the odd finish and took no issue with the stoppage other than its classification as a TKO rather than a submission.

“(Dvalishvili) was there the whole time,” Culley said. “He knew there was short time in the round. He was flailing his legs not just to show he was awake, but to keep blood circulation going.

“In his mind, that was beneficial to keep him awake, and it worked. There was no tap. He clearly wasn’t unconscious, so that’s where we’re at right now.”

Culley said Dvalishvili was obeying orders from NJSACB doctors when he laid down on the canvas immediately after the final bell.

“So in our mind, this should have went to the judges, and we believe he would have won a judges’ decision as well,” Culley said. “We feel like a loss was taken from him.”

According to scorecards given to the media immediately after the bout, Dvalishvili was ahead on two of three judges’ scorecards and would’ve on a split decision.

MMAjunkie wasn’t immediately able to reach Simon for comment on a potential rematch, but he told reporters after the fight that there shouldn’t have been any confusion about the outcome.

“Everyone else might have been confused – I wasn’t,” Simon said. “I was choking him hard with everything I had, I was trying to stay calm in that guillotine and I felt him go limp there. I stood over his limp body at the end. I saw his eyes roll back. … I was yelling at the ref, ‘He’s out! He’s out! If you want me to keep squeezing the neck I’m going to.’ I felt him, he was out.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 128, check out the UFC Events section of the site.