The UFC Baku preliminary card opener, which saw multiple fouls and an admission from commentary that the judges may have to use the aggression and Octagon control criteria, ended instead with a controversial finish.
Tahir Abdullayev’s victory over Jefferson Nascimento in the first fight at UFC Baku now has a cloud over it thanks to the decision-making of referee Jim Perdios.
The fight ultimately had little effective offense but still featured multiple questionable moments. The first round saw its biggest attack from Abdullayev late in the round; however, Nascimento may have done more in the way of cage control.
The second round, however, saw some in the MMA community raise eyebrows when Nascimento was warned for not engaging enough — despite him landing more than Nascimento in the round, per UFC Stats. This is on top of Abdullayev landing a punch on Nascimento after the horn, but only receiving a stern warning.
Abdullayev grounded Nascimento late in the third round and looked to land heavy blows. Despite the attempts, Nascimento didn’t appear to be in as much danger. However, as Nascimento grabbed onto Abdullayev from the bottom, Perdios waved off the contest, with Nascimento and the UFC commentary team immediately protesting the stoppage.
Tahir Abdullayev Gets Controversial Last-Minute TKO Of Jefferson Nascimento At UFC Baku
Abdullayev has now won five straight and moves to 22-3. This marked his UFC debut. All victories in this span have been a finish for the former UAE Warriors champion.
This also marked the UFC debut for Nascimento, the former LFA champion. Nascimento was unbeaten at 13-0 before this loss.