Ion Cutelaba may not have won his match against Magomed Ankalaev on Saturday at UFC , but maybe he can win an Oscar for his performance inside the Octagon. The highly anticipated match between these two light heavyweights — which had a little pre-fight drama — was over before it really started. A controversial first-round stoppage just 38 seconds into the fight left Ion Cutelaba and the crowd stunned and upset.
Cutelaba came out with his usual aggressive approach, but Ankalaev responded with a series of punches and kicks that appeared to wobble his opponent. Although Cutelaba appeared shaky on his feed, he continued to return power punches and fight back. Even though he was fighting back, the constant wobbling of Cutelaba forced referee Kevin MacDonald to halt the fight, which drew boos from the crowd and an immediate protest from Cutelaba, who didn't appear hurt at all.
Cutelaba was clearly wobbling during the fight; however, upon replay it appeared that he may have been faking it in an attempt to lure Ankalaev into a false sense of dominance. None of Ankalaev's kicks actually appeared to land flush and, in slow motion, you could see that Cutelaba was acting dazed.
Unfortunately, his acting may have been a little too good. The call stood and Ankalaev won the fight by TKO just 38 seconds into the first round. He improved to 13-1, while Cutelaba fell to 15-5 with 1 NC.
After the fight, Ankalaev was asked about the controversial early stoppage. He didn't really comment on it, only saying that it's not his call. Asked about a potentially running it back with Cutelaba, Ankalaev said he's always ready to fight. After the clearly early stoppage, a rematch between these two seems inevitable.