It can’t be easy stepping onto the biggest stage in the sport of MMA, but that is exactly what Pedro Nobre agreed to do in his debut in the UFC in his home country of Brazil.
Nobre was facing Yuri Alcantara and things were tense from the start, which is to be expected anytime a new face is exposed to the harsh lights of the UFC for the first time. After all, this is the same stage shared by Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva and countless other Brazilian fighters of note—including Vitor Belfort, who squares off against Michael Bisping in the main card headliner bout tonight.
But this isn’t about anyone else except Pedro Nobre, who was and always has been the master of his own destiny.
The long and the short of it was that Nobre seemed to go with the flow of a referee stoppage in the action, after said referee (Dan Miragliotta) felt that a timeout was due, halting the action as Alcantara was reigning down blows upon Nobre from the back-mount position.
As the fight was paused, Nobre was asked if he could continue and he decided he could not, which in itself would not be so bad had the replays not shown that all the blows he was taking looked to be landing on the side of his head.
None of the shots that led to the stoppage looked to be illegal, but Miragliotta left the choice up to Nobre and he indicated that he could not continue. Thus the bout was called and is now in the record books as a no contest.
Upon viewing the replays, most in attendance, including Dana White, felt that Nobre was doing nothing more than acting at the worst possible time: when he was at a disadvantage in the fight and on his way to defeat.
“That was BS!!!” White tweeted. “Pedro is an award winning actor and horrible call by Dan M.”
The fallout is sure to continue. Bleacherreport.com will keep you posted to the events as they unfold.
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