Morning Report: John McCarthy says Merab Dvalishvili ‘went out twice’ late against Ricky Simon

Controversy befell the UFC over the weekend when Ricky Simon pulled an impressive comeback to submit Merab Dvalishvili at the buzzer with a mounted guillotine choke - at least, that’s how things finally ended up.

At first, it appeared that Dvalishvili had managed to gut it out to the final bell through the tight submission attempt and was likely to win on the judge’s scorecards after controlling the first two rounds. But after a brief cageside discussion though, it was deemed that Dvalishvili had actually been choked unconscious during the finishing sequence of the bout and the fight was ruled a TKO victory for Simon at 5:00 of the third round, the latest stoppage in a three-round fight in UFC history.

After the fight, fighters and fans alike questioned the ruling and weighed in on whether Dvalishvili should have been allowed to see the scorecards instead of having the ref call the fight off, with ardent supporters on both sides of the argument. But while fans and fighters may be split, big name referees appear to be in agreement that referee Liam Kerrigan and the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board came to the right conclusion. Marc Goddard, who was ringside for the bout and assisted in the determination to rule it a stoppage victory for Simon, was first to chime in but now legendary referee Big John McCarthy has also added his voice to the fray.

Taking to his Twitter account to answering questions about the stoppage, McCarthy said that Simon was the rightful winner and that Dvalishvili “went out twice” during the last part of the fight, once during the finishing choke and the other time when he was “knocked silly” when his head was slammed to the canvas as part of a takedown.

Upon review, it does appear that Dvalishvili’s legs go limp after slamming Simon and, as McCarthy notes, he does give up the reversal into mount very easily. Even if Dvalishvili wasn’t out then though, McCarthy insists that Simon should still win because Dvalishvili was clearly unconscious after Simon let go and that the buzzer cannot save a fighter in trouble.

The loss moved Dvalishvili to 0-2 in the UFC but it’s not all bad. He and Simon did take on Fight of the Night honors and an extra $50,000 for their memorable scrap at UFC Atlantic City.

Here’s a video of the controversial stoppage so you can decide for yourself who is right.

MUST-READ STORIES

Results. Find out what happened over the weekend at UFC Atlantic City.

TKO? Marc Goddard explains controversial end to Ricky Simon vs. Merab Dvalishvili.

Deserve. T.J. Dillashaw on Cody Garbrandt rematch: ‘He doesn’t deserve it whatsoever.’

Habitual Line Stepper. Max Holloway says Conor McGregor ‘crossed the line’ with Brooklyn bus attack.

Injury. Santiago Ponzinibbio out of UFC Chile main event due to injury.

VIDEO STEW

Bellator Countdown.

MiddleEasy got a ton of videos from AC this weekend.

T-Wood breaking down the beef.

And Brad Tavares desperately trying to make beef that will never, ever happen.

Bellator vs. UFC.

TTTHS.

Lee vs. Barboza.

LISTEN UP

6th Round. Immediate post-fight reaction to UFC Atlantic City.

LT Cast. Immediate post-fight reaction to UFC Atlantic City.

Severe MMA. Discussing UFC Atlantic City, weight-cutting, Rory-Askren, and the PFL.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Back in November/December? PLenty of time for at least one interim title fight, maybe two.

Good guy Frankie.

Class.

Straightforward call out.

This sport needs more Jim Millers.

Brett Johns getting the love even in defeat.

Al does not like Marc Goddard’s explanation.

Woodley.

Damn, DC.

And so it begins.

And Hunto is unhappy about it.

Derek Brunson with the call out.

Got him.

Strong stuff from the UFC. But seriously, just merge 135 with 145, call it “Women’s Heavyweight” and be done with it.

Impressive.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Anthony Hernandez (6-0) vs. Jordan Wright (9-0); DWTNCS, June 19.

Max Holloway (19-3) vs. Brian Ortega (14-0, 1 NC); UFC 226, July 7.

Francis Ngannou (11-2) vs. Derrick Lewis (19-5, 1 NC); UFC 226, July 7.

Cat Zingano (9-3) vs. Marion Reneau (9-3-1); UFC Boise, July 14.

Liz Carmouche (11-6) vs. Jennifer Maia (15-4-1); UFC Boise, July 14.

Justin Scoggins (11-4) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (11-1); UFC Boise, July 14.

TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2005: At Pride Total Elimination, Mauricio Rua’s stopped Quinton Jackson with soccer kicks and began his memorable run through the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix.

2016: Jon Jones made his return to the UFC after being suspended for outside the cage issues, winning a unanimous decision over Ovince Saint Preux to claim the interim light heavyweight title at UFC 197. The co-main event that evening saw Demetrious Johnson run roughshod over former Olympic wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo, stopping him with knees to the body in the first round.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope y’all enjoyed the weekend of fights because we are now in for a pretty long stretch without a UFC event. Should be a nice change of pace at least.

Have a good one and see y’all tomorrow.

EXIT POLL

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