The fight between Trey Ogden and Nikolas Motta at the UFC Fight Night 232 was filled with controversy after it was stopped by referee Mike Beltran by mistake. It was declared a no-contest, causing uproar among fans and other fighters, especially Ogden, who was in control of the bout and the judges’ scorecards.
The issue started in the third round of the lightweight preliminary bout between the two fighters when Ogden performed an arm-triangle choke on his opponent. While still mounting Motta and his arm around the fighter’s neck, Beltran asked Motta to react or give him a signal. The fighter was still fighting the choke by then, but the Beltran stopped the bout. The stoppage left Motta with rage, and Ogden immediately celebrated, thinking he had won.
However, as Beltran was holding the two fighters to raise the hand of the winner, it was announced that the bout was given a no-contest status, which dismayed both parties. Yet, it is a bigger issue for Ogden, who dominated the rounds. According to the scorecards shared by the UFC, the fighter also dominated Motta, which could translate to a unanimous decision.
#UFCVegas82 Official Scorecard: Trey Ogden vs Nikolas Motta
See every scorecard here ➡️: https://t.co/He4sxcGRUn pic.twitter.com/EWP4Ab055l
— UFC News (@UFCNews) November 18, 2023
Unfortunately, the final decision means Ogden didn’t get the winning prize and would even have a no-contest on his record. Worse, he probably only received half his paycheck.
“I’m pretty disappointed right now,” Ogden said. “I’m in the third round of a tough fight, I’ve got bills to pay and a no-contest? I deserve my win money. I don’t care about records, whatever, but I better get paid because I’m in mounted arm triangle, I heard the ref tell him three times to show him he was still there, and on the third time, he stops the fight. I didn’t stop the fight.
“If he just let it go two more minutes, Nik would have never got out of mount, I win, I get my money. I don’t understand.”
Bantamweight fighter Brian Kelleher commented on the matter, saying it was a complicated situation for everyone.
“Tough position there,” tweeted Kelleher. “Ref asking to show him something. Problem with that is showing him something can be the split-second mistake that makes the choke worse. Not showing him any type of movement or signal leads to that though.”
Other fighters, on the other hand, concluded that Ogden and Motta’s case was just a general matter of bad stoppage, with some sharing sympathy for the former.
“Regardless Ogden was dominant for 2.5 rounds,” posted middleweight fighter Julian Marquez. “How is that a no contest? If we had an accidental eye poke and the fighter couldn’t continue they would score the fight if it’s over 1.5 rounds. I’m confused #UFCVegas82.”
“That’s 100% on the refs, not the fighters,” tweeted bantamweight fighter Miles Chapo Johns. “Pay that man!”
“All correctly said by Ogden,” former UFC fighter Alan Jouban said. “No way that can stay a no contest.”
“Wow! That’s fucked up! #UFCVegas82,” commented flyweight fighter Cody Durden. “No win money, and he didn’t get the win, and he can’t get a bonus…WTF?”
