Phumi
Nkuta’s bid to overturn the lone loss of his professional
career did not go in his favor.

The California State Athletic Commission on Monday denied Nkuta’s
appeal to overturn his technical submission defeat against Adriano
Moraes at
MVP: Ronda
Rousey vs. Gina Carano.
Nkuta argued that Moraes held a fight-ending choke beyond the final
horn and that referee Herb Dean
mishandled the sequence.

However, the commission ruled there was insufficient evidence to
change the official result.

California State Athletic Commission denies Phumi Nkuta appeal
after Adriano Moraes fight

On May 16, Nkuta and Moraes clashed in a flyweight bout on the main
card of MVP's Rousey vs. Carano-headlined event.

Near the end of the fight, Moraes had Nkuta in a choke. As the
final bell rang, the former held on to the choke for what Nkuta
claims was around 2.15 seconds after the horn. The official result
was a technical submission victory for the former One
Championship titleholder.

Nkuta then filed an appeal to overturn the loss, claiming that he
was still conscious when the final bell rang, but went out after
time had expired because Moraes held the choke. He further argued
that the fight should have gone to the judges' scorecards, where
Nkuta believes he did enough to secure a decision victory.

CSAC executive director Andy Foster
did not deny that the choke was held for longer than it was
necessary, but said that there was no definitive evidence that
Nkuta was not unconscious at the bell.

“I bet I’ve watched it 80 times now. We’ve watched it over and
over. I’m still unsure when he went unconscious. When we’re not
sure about something, it needs to be clear and convincing evidence
if this commission is going to flip a fight, just to be very
clear,†Foster said of the judgement (via MMA Junkie).

Nkuta, who traveled from Las Vegas to Sacramento to attend Monday’s
hearing in person, said that he remembers hearing the final horn.
The commission did not respond directly to these arguments from
Nkuta and his attorney, Lance Spaude, apart from a brief comment by
commissioner Dr. AnnaMaria De Mars, a former judo champion and the
mother of Ronda Rousey.

“We ask the officials to make a judgement call under very difficult
circumstances,†Dr. De Mars said. “You’re there. There are millions
of people watching you. To change somebody’s decision, it has to be
very egregious. I’m sitting here thinking about choking people and
how fast your reaction time is. Is holding something for two
seconds, when he’s under just as much pressure as you, a real
egregious, deliberate foul? I just don’t see it that way.â€

The CSAC has denied Phumi
Nkuta's appeal that Herb Dean
mishandled the end of his bout vs. Adriano
Moraes on
#RouseyCarano. The result stands pic.twitter.com/XiuJm1CMA4

— Nolan King (@mma_kings)
July 13, 2026

Bogdan
Guskov is now used to the chaotic package that is Valter
Walker.

Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters Guskov and Walker are
training partners at Gor
MMA under head coach Gor Azizyan. The latter has a loud
personality and rarely hesitates to pull off embarrassing pranks in
public, and the former was his latest victim.

Bogdan Guskov reacts to Valter Walker prank ahead of UFC Abu
Dhabi

In his latest prank, the Brazilian bizarrely touched Guskov's
manhood on camera. However, Guskov has learned to be unfazed by
Walter's antics.

Guskov believes Walker has chaos inside his head. While Guskov
doesn't understand Walker, he considers “The Foot Hunter†a friend.
The Uzbek fighter neither took the incident seriously in any way
nor tried to stop Walker from posting it on social media.

“He is a f*cking moron. A fool. A f*cking idiot. I didn't expect
that. I don't understand him at all,†Guskov told Red Corner MMA.
“He's got chaos in his head. We've got to get used to his
stupidity. As they say, he is a moron, but he's our own moron. Our
homie… [No intrusive thoughts] at all. It's Valter. What intrusive
thoughts? He ran away as I wanted to slap him. He knows that I
don't take such things lightly… Try not to let him post anything;
he would go home and still post it. And then won't show up. He's a
godsend to a spy.â€

Guskov (18-3) is stepping up on 14 days' notice against Magomed
Ankalaev (20-2) in the main event at
UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. Meanwhile, Walker (15-1) takes on
Thomas
Petersen (11-4) in a heavyweight matchup on the same card.

Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Jon Jones
believes Ciryl Gane's
confidence will play a key role in a rematch against Tom
Aspinall.

Gane (14-2) challenged Aspinall (15-3) for the heavyweight title in
their first meeting at UFC 321
last October. However, the fight ended in an unfortunate no-contest
after a double eye poke by Gane in the first round rendered
Aspinall unable to continue.

While Aspinall subsequently underwent eye surgery, Gane defeated
Alex
Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title at
UFC Freedom 250. “Bon Gamin” is now expected to challenge
Aspinall in a title unification bout next and Jones believes the
Frenchman will come out on top.

Why Jon Jones believes Ciryl Gane has the edge over Tom
Aspinall

According to Jones, Gane's confidence is soaring after his win over
Pereira. The former champion also notes that Aspinall was looking
invincible until he faced Gane at UFC 321. Notably, many, including
UFC CEO Dana
White, opined that the two-time interim champion was winning
the fight as long as it lasted.

“I believe Gane's going to win,†Jones told Ring Magazine. “When
you become the champion and you beat a man like Alex Pereira, it
has to do something for your confidence. Even in Gane's first fight
with Tom Aspinall, Tom was looking pretty invincible until Ciryl
Gane. And most people feel like Gane was winning that fight. I feel
like Gane's confidence has to be at an all-time high.â€

Jones returned to the Octagon after three years against Gane in
2023, with the vacant heavyweight title on the line. “Bones” made
quick work of the French heavyweight with a guillotine choke in the
very first round. Meanwhile, the American has a contentious
relationship with Aspinall, with the duo going back and forth
repeatedly before Jones ultimately vacated the belt.