Vancouver — Kyle Nelson basically had to win twice at UFC Vancouver.
At the end of the opening round of Nelson’s lightweight fight with Matt Frevola, ref “Big” Dan Miragliotta appeared to wave off the action with three seconds still on the clock, after Nelson had landed several unanswered, undefended blows on the “Steamrolla.”
A win for “The Monster” was soon dashed, however, after the ref ordered the fighters to carry on. UFC VP of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner immediately appeared on the UFC Vancouver broadcast, calling it a “referee error.” The UFC, however, has no say in officiating, which is overseen by the local athletic commission. And so the fight carried on.
Nelson (17-6-1) painted the full picture while speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press at the Rogers Arena following the fight.
“… Dan stepped in, I got up, I thought I won,” recalled Nelson, who went to help Frevola back up thinking the bout was finished. “Then Dan’s like ‘no get back to your corner.'” Nelson believed he was simply being separated from a fallen foe with the bout still complete; his coaches and even his fiancé had entered the octagon. “We’re still thinking we won, we’re halfway through the break, they’re like ‘no, you’re going back in.’ So we didn’t even get the stool, didn’t really get a chance to slow down and control my breathing and stuff. We just kind of went right back out into the second round.”
That said, there’s no hard feelings on Nelson’s part it seems. It probably helps that the Huntsville, Ontario-born fighter went on to win a unanimous decision, even if robbed of a TKO finish.
“I don’t hold anything against Dan. Dan’s always been a great guy, I think he’s a great ref,” stated Nelson. As for the finish, “we’re not going to be able to change that. I got the victory either way, so I’m just looking forward to moving forward. Again spending time with family, and then looking at the next fight at lightweight.”
Watch the full UFC Vancouver post-fight press conference with Kyle Nelson above.
