Following Saturday’s no-contest at UFC on FX 7, bantamweight Pedro Nobre found opponent Yuri Alcantara at the fight hotel to discuss the bizarre ending to their fight.

The bout ended prematurely after referee Dan Miragliotta decided Alcantara’s series of first-round blows were illegal. Nobre, who who was flattened out on his stomach, appeared to take most, if not all the shots, legally to the side of the head, though Miragliotta ruled they were illegal and to the back of the head.

With Nobre apparently unable to continue, the preliminary-card fight was waved off and declared a no-contest.

The fans at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo loudly booed the decision and questioned the legitimacy of his injury, and in a telling move, the UFC paid Alcantara his win bonus anyway. UFC President Dana White even went to Twitter to blast Nobre as “an award-winning actor.”

The following morning, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) spotted Nobre in the host hotel, and the Brazilian was spotted wearing a neck brace.

Later in the day, Nobre’s representatives issued a statement from the fighter, which MMAjunkie.com translated.

“I met Yuri in the hotel hallway when I came back from the hospital,” he stated. “He came and asked for my forgiveness and made it clear that he never had the intent to strike me illegally. At that time, I told him not to worry because I know he is a person of integrity, same as me. Accidents happen, and this time I was on the receiving end.

“We are both fighters with similar characteristics, who fight always moving forward. I wish to return to the octagon soon. In case the UFC asks for a , to remove any doubt, we would do everything to make it up to the audience.”

The bout marked Nobre’s official UFC debut after he was bounced from the elimination round of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” in early 2012. A late replacement for injured George Roop, Nobre (14-1-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) moved up from flyweight to bantamweight for the late-notice opportunity against the bigger Alcantara (27-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who moved down from featherweight.

Nobre’s coach at Brazilian Top Team, Murilo Bustamante, offered support to his fighter. In addition to fighting outside his weight class, Bustamante said Nobre clearly showed a fighter’s heart when he escaped Alcantara’s armlock.

“Pedro is one of the hardest-fighting athletes at our academy,” Bustamante stated. “I’ve seen him go through various bad spots in other fights, overcome and achieve victory. Even against Yuri, something similar happened when he was in an americana (submission) and used incredible will to change positions and continue fighting. Many others would have tapped at that moment.”

According to Bustamante, Nobre was cleared of any serious injuries.

“Thank God all hospital exams have shown no severe trauma and no fractures to the head or cervical spine, despite persisting injury symptoms,” he stated. “Now we have to concern ourselves with his recovery, which is the most important thing.”

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