Zuffa LLC
UFC Perth: Controversy Report
After weeks of decent cards with either electrifying finishes and no questionable judging or refereeing, we’ve found ourselves in quite the dilemma this week. We will go in depth on what happened, what should have happened, the psychological impacts of a fighter as well as post fight legalities.
Neil Magny defeats Jake Matthews
- Round 3 SUB
Every time we see Neil Magny welcome a fresh, younger prospect into the rankings, we begin to accept the very real possibility of a betting upset. Jake Matthews, aged 31 and riding a three fight win-streak looked amazing from the start. Finding success with the boxing, cutting the range, reversing the clinch and even taking Magny down.
The success was so great, that Matthews found himself tightly locked in a submission towards the end of Round 1. The Submission looked so tight that Magny seemingly failed the limp arm test referees use to examine if a fighter is not sound asleep. Referee Jim Perdios then STOPS the fight, only a second before the end of the round, to get contested by Neil Magny.
At this point Matthews is celebrating, as the referee had in fact stopped the fight. Magny’s contest gave the referee the ability to continue the fight, so we would be seeing a second round. The adrenaline dump, from believing a fight is won, to now having to fight two more rounds against a fully rejuvenated opponent was perhaps tough for the Celtic Kid.
The rest of the fight maintained itself in favor of Matthews, right until the end, when Magny found his traditional third Round Momentum, took down Matthews and eventually found the submission on him. This time around, the outcome was certain. A submission win for the immortal Neil Magny, despite being largely out-skilled over the first two rounds.
Zuffa LLC
Evidently, a frustrating result for Jake Matthews, but let’s examine what should have happened. If a fight is called off by the referee because of a potential submission, the fight is over, regardless if it was the correct or incorrect decision. We’ve seen this happen before back in 2023 when Arguetta had locked in a tight guillotine on Ronnie Lawrence, only for the referee to mistakenly stop the fight, after believing Lawrence was unconscious.
In this case, the fight was reviewed immediately and declared a No Contest. In my eyes, this was the correct decision, and avoided further drama. Had referee Jim Perdios given the No Contest, both men would be able to have their rematch at a later date, without any of the adrenaline dump disadvantages a fighter may have when he believes he has won a fight.
While Perdios made a mistake in stopping a fight, allowing it to restart only extended further this mistake, creating more debate and confusion. While one can understand his intentions of remedying the situation, the No Contest would have avoided the controversy we now see.
Jake Matthews and his team are planning to appeal this decision with the commission, and personally, I do believe there is a solid chance this could be altered to a No Contest, especially when considering that the fight was at one point over and with Jake Matthews being the one getting his hand raised. Despite all this crazed nonsense, Matthews made history as the first man to both lose and win the same fight by submission.
🔍 Want to know more about each event? Visit homeoffight.com or any of our social media accounts for more articles, fighter interviews, and plenty of more coverage.
💰 Want to get in on the action? Visit homeoffight.com/picks to tail all of the Home of Fight expert’s picks & bets each week!
🥊 Content & coverage brought to you by LEGENDZ! Play online Social Casino & LIVE Sports Gambling!
